HP (NYSE:HPQ) Reaches New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $25.00 to $22.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. HP traded as low as $19.58 and last traded at $19.7890, with a volume of 19617236 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.37.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on HPQ. Argus raised HP to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of HP from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of HP from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of HP in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group set a $24.00 price objective on shares of HP in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.77.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Anneliese Olson sold 18,154 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.88, for a total value of $506,133.52. Following the sale, the insider owned 169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,711.72. This trade represents a 99.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ketan M. Patel sold 33,321 shares of HP stock in a transaction on Friday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.19, for a total value of $772,713.99. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 34,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $801,724.68. This represents a 49.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 110,123 shares of company stock worth $2,784,126 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HP

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Savvy Advisors Inc. grew its stake in HP by 58.2% in the 4th quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 14,559 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 5,357 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of HP by 579.7% during the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 56,370 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $1,256,000 after acquiring an additional 48,077 shares during the last quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. purchased a new position in HP in the fourth quarter worth $342,000. American National Bank & Trust increased its stake in HP by 356.6% in the fourth quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 14,091 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 11,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in HP by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,591 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 2,049 shares in the last quarter. 77.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HP Price Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.57. The stock has a market cap of $18.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 1.21.

HP (NYSE:HPQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 25th. The computer maker reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $14.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.50 billion. HP had a negative return on equity of 330.68% and a net margin of 4.57%.HP’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. HP has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.900-3.200 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.730-0.810 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that HP Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

HP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 11th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This is a positive change from HP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.1%. HP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.28%.

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.