HP Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:HPQ)

HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 33,182 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 43% compared to the average volume of 23,229 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in HP by 14.9% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,827 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC increased its stake in HP by 4.4% in the third quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 9,261 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in HP by 3.3% in the second quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,470 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its stake in HP by 42.9% in the third quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,349 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in HP by 0.6% in the second quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 69,579 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $1,702,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. 77.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

HP Trading Up 5.3%

Shares of HPQ opened at $19.22 on Tuesday. HP has a 12 month low of $17.56 and a 12 month high of $29.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $18.93 and its 200-day moving average is $22.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.58 billion, a PE ratio of 7.28, a P/E/G ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 1.11.

HP (NYSE:HPQ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The computer maker reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.04. HP had a net margin of 4.46% and a negative return on equity of 367.41%. The company had revenue of $14.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.87 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. HP has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.700-0.760 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that HP will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HP Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. HP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of HP from $25.00 to $18.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of HP from $26.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Zacks Research raised shares of HP from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of HP from $18.00 to $16.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of HP from $18.00 to $16.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, HP presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $21.58.

About HP

HP Inc is an American multinational information technology company that designs, manufactures and sells personal computing devices, printers and related supplies and services. Its product portfolio spans consumer and commercial notebooks and desktops, workstations, displays and accessories, as well as an extensive line of printing hardware that includes home, office and production printers. HP also provides consumables such as ink and toner, managed print services, device deployment and lifecycle support, and software for device and print management.

Founded from the original Hewlett‑Packard Company, HP Inc became a separately traded public company in 2015 following a corporate split that created Hewlett Packard Enterprise to focus on enterprise hardware and services.