StockNews.com Upgrades HP (NYSE:HPQ) to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of HP (NYSE:HPQ) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Thursday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on HP from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup reduced their target price on HP from $37.00 to $36.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. HSBC downgraded shares of HP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $39.00 to $38.00 in a report on Friday, November 29th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of HP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of HP from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.14.

HP Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HPQ opened at $27.90 on Thursday. HP has a 1 year low of $27.43 and a 1 year high of $39.80. The company has a market capitalization of $26.30 billion, a PE ratio of 9.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $31.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.98.

HP (NYSE:HPQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The computer maker reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.74. The business had revenue of $13.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.35 billion. HP had a negative return on equity of 253.39% and a net margin of 5.18%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that HP will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

HP Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a $0.2894 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. HP’s payout ratio is currently 41.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HP news, insider Stephanie Liebman sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.50, for a total transaction of $357,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,277 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,002.50. This trade represents a 63.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anneliese Olson sold 21,545 shares of HP stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.49, for a total transaction of $613,817.05. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,814.81. This trade represents a 99.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 48,191 shares of company stock valued at $1,425,051. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HP

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in HP by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 64,228 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $2,303,000 after purchasing an additional 6,299 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of HP in the third quarter worth about $207,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in HP by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 786,641 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $28,217,000 after buying an additional 62,346 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in HP by 72.6% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 14,725 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $528,000 after buying an additional 6,192 shares during the period. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its position in HP by 201.7% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 480,829 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $17,247,000 after buying an additional 321,455 shares during the period. 77.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HP Company Profile

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.