Citigroup Downgrades HP (NYSE:HPQ) to Neutral

HP (NYSE:HPQ) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Citigroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $37.00 price objective on the computer maker’s stock. Citigroup’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 5.20% from the stock’s current price.

HPQ has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barclays cut their target price on shares of HP from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Bank of America downgraded shares of HP from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on HP from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on HP from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on HP from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.55.

HP Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HPQ opened at $35.17 on Tuesday. HP has a 52-week low of $25.59 and a 52-week high of $39.52. The company has a market capitalization of $34.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.32.

HP (NYSE:HPQ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The computer maker reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.03). HP had a negative return on equity of 266.37% and a net margin of 5.33%. The business had revenue of $13.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that HP will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current year.

HP declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, August 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the computer maker to repurchase up to 28.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Enrique Lores sold 211,501 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.16, for a total value of $7,013,373.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3 shares in the company, valued at $99.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of HP

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HPQ. Chris Bulman Inc bought a new stake in HP during the 2nd quarter worth $88,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in HP by 27.5% during the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 106,316 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $3,213,000 after buying an additional 22,909 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in HP by 85.9% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 174,585 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $5,275,000 after buying an additional 80,670 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in HP by 1.4% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,819,100 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $85,193,000 after acquiring an additional 37,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new stake in HP during the 4th quarter worth about $981,000. 77.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About HP

HP Inc provides products, technologies, software, solutions, and services to individual consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses, and large enterprises, including customers in the government, health, and education sectors worldwide. It operates through Personal Systems and Printing segments. The Personal Systems segment offers commercial personal computers (PCs), consumer PCs, workstations, thin clients, commercial tablets and mobility devices, retail point-of-sale systems, displays and other related accessories, software, support, and services for the commercial and consumer markets.