HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) have been given an average rating of “Buy” by the twenty-five research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $19.89.

Several analysts recently weighed in on HPQ shares. Vetr lowered HP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $19.72 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, June 5th. ValuEngine raised HP from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 6th. Susquehanna Bancshares Inc started coverage on HP in a report on Thursday, July 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on HP from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 25th. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised HP from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $17.54 to $20.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 12th.

HP (NYSE HPQ) remained flat at $19.32 on Tuesday. The company had a trading volume of 11,560,389 shares. The firm has a market cap of $32.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.66 and a beta of 1.90. HP has a 52-week low of $13.55 and a 52-week high of $19.58. The company’s 50 day moving average is $18.32 and its 200 day moving average is $17.66.

HP (NYSE:HPQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 24th. The computer maker reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $12.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.93 billion. HP had a negative return on equity of 68.86% and a net margin of 4.94%. HP’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that HP will post $1.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 13th will be given a $0.1327 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 12th. This represents a $0.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. HP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.32%.

In other news, Director Margaret C. Whitman sold 221,960 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.36, for a total transaction of $4,297,145.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 692,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,413,556.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Marie Myers sold 12,119 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.07, for a total value of $218,990.33. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,571.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,748,815 shares of company stock valued at $32,623,560 over the last 90 days. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. American Beacon Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of HP during the first quarter worth approximately $112,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of HP by 0.3% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,419 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. YorkBridge Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of HP by 12.1% in the first quarter. YorkBridge Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,257 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the period. First Command Bank increased its stake in shares of HP by 80.0% in the second quarter. First Command Bank now owns 6,714 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 2,984 shares during the period. Finally, TrimTabs Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of HP by 88.9% in the first quarter. TrimTabs Asset Management LLC now owns 6,936 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $124,000 after buying an additional 3,264 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.97% of the company’s stock.

About HP

HP Inc is a provider of products, technologies, software, solutions and services to individual consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses, and enterprises, including customers in the government, health and education sectors. The Company provides personal computing and other access devices, imaging and printing products, and related technologies, solutions and services.