HP (NYSE:HPQ) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of HP (NYSE:HPQ) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

HPQ has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of HP from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on HP from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Barclays boosted their price target on HP from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded HP from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of HP in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.77.

HP Price Performance

NYSE:HPQ opened at $31.31 on Friday. HP has a 1-year low of $17.56 and a 1-year high of $36.22. The company has a 50-day moving average of $30.22 and a 200 day moving average of $24.80. The firm has a market cap of $28.23 billion, a PE ratio of 11.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.18.

HP (NYSE:HPQ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The computer maker reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.17. HP had a net margin of 4.14% and a negative return on equity of 947.78%. The business had revenue of $15.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. HP has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.190-3.290 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.690-0.790 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that HP will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HP news, insider David McQuarrie sold 21,048 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.98, for a total value of $631,019.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 39,580 shares in the company, valued at $1,186,608.40. This trade represents a 34.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 42,096 shares of company stock valued at $1,218,890 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of HP

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in HP during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Union Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of HP in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in HP during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in HP by 149.0% during the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,337 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Paces Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of HP in the second quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.53% of the company’s stock.

About HP

HP Inc is a global technology company that develops and sells personal computing and printing products and related services. Its Personal Systems business offers laptops, desktop computers, workstations, gaming PCs, monitors, peripherals and accessories for consumers, businesses and public-sector organizations.

Through its Printing business, HP provides home and office printers, commercial printing systems, supplies such as ink and toner, and managed print services. The company also offers software and solutions designed to support device management, security, productivity and digital workflows.

HP serves customers in markets around the world through direct sales, online channels, retailers, distributors and business partners.