HP (NYSE:HPQ) Shares Up 12.7% – Still a Buy?

Shares of HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) were up 12.7% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $24.38 and last traded at $24.6870. Approximately 9,823,175 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average daily volume of 18,372,408 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.90.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HPQ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of HP from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of HP from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of HP from $21.00 to $16.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of HP from $26.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of HP from $25.00 to $18.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $21.67.

HP Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $19.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.15. The firm has a market cap of $23.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 1.09.

HP (NYSE:HPQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The computer maker reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.04. HP had a net margin of 4.46% and a negative return on equity of 367.41%. The business had revenue of $14.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue 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, equities research analysts predict that HP Inc. will post 2.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HP Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. HP’s payout ratio is currently 45.45%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Garner Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in HP in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in HP in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in HP in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in HP by 97.0% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 646 shares during the period. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC acquired a new position in HP in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.53% of the company’s stock.

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.