Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of HP Call Options (NYSE:HPQ)

HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 42,365 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 70% compared to the typical volume of 24,932 call options.

HP Trading Up 15.0%

HP stock traded up $3.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $25.19. 21,682,320 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,530,027. The firm has a market cap of $23.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.53, a PEG ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $19.78 and a 200 day moving average of $21.15. HP has a 12 month low of $17.56 and a 12 month high of $29.55.

HP (NYSE:HPQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The computer maker reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.04. HP had a negative return on equity of 367.41% and a net margin of 4.46%.The company had revenue of $14.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. HP’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. HP has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.700-0.760 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that HP will post 2.84 EPS for the current year.

HP Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 10th. HP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HPQ has been the topic of several research reports. Zacks Research upgraded HP from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $20.00 price objective (down from $26.00) on shares of HP in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on HP from $21.00 to $16.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Evercore set a $22.00 price objective on HP in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on HP from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, HP has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $21.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Garner Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in HP during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in HP in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in HP in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in HP by 97.0% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 646 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC bought a new position in HP during the third quarter worth about $28,000. 77.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.