HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the twelve research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $35.55.

HPQ has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of HP from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on HP from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays reduced their price objective on 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 lifted their target price on HP from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of HP from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Enrique Lores sold 211,501 shares of HP 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3 shares in the company, valued at $99.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HP

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in HP during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of HP during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Sawyer & Company Inc grew its holdings in shares of HP by 900.0% during the first quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc now owns 1,000 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of HP by 377.9% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,061 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DecisionPoint Financial LLC purchased a new stake in HP in the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 77.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

HP Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:HPQ opened at $34.82 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $35.19 and its 200 day moving average is $32.97. HP has a 12-month low of $25.22 and a 12-month high of $39.52. The stock has a market cap of $34.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.76, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.07.

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

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

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.