Royal Bank Of Canada Upgrades HP (NYSE:HPQ) to Hold

HP (NYSE:HPQ) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on HPQ. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of HP in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of HP in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on HP from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on HP from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on HP from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.77.

HP Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HPQ opened at $35.42 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $28.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.69. The stock has a market cap of $31.94 billion, a PE ratio of 13.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.18. HP has a 1 year low of $17.56 and a 1 year high of $36.22.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at HP

In other news, insider David McQuarrie sold 21,048 shares of HP stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.98, for a total value of $631,019.04. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 39,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,186,608.40. The trade was a 34.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 42,096 shares of company stock worth $1,218,890 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HP

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HPQ. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in HP by 13.1% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 114,169 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $2,793,000 after purchasing an additional 13,265 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its stake in shares of HP by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 21,230 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $519,000 after buying an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of HP by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 145,337 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $3,555,000 after buying an additional 8,779 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in shares of HP by 70.5% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 731,574 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $17,894,000 after buying an additional 302,578 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of HP in the 2nd quarter worth about $233,000. 77.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

HP Company Profile

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.