HP (NYSE:HPQ) Reaches New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• HP shares reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as $31.30, despite MarketBeat’s analyst consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $23.50.
• HP reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.86 versus the $0.72 consensus and revenue of $14.41 billion, up 9% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, equivalent to $1.20 annually and a 4.0% yield; insiders have also sold shares recently, including a 21,048-share sale under a pre-arranged trading plan.

HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $31.30 and last traded at $31.6840, with a volume of 619326 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $29.28.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on HPQ shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of HP from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of HP from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of HP from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of HP from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on HP from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $23.50.

HP Trading Up 1.7%

The stock has a market capitalization of $27.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.00, a PEG ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.90.

HP (NYSE:HPQ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The computer maker reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.14. HP had a net margin of 4.45% and a negative return on equity of 581.36%. The company had revenue of $14.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. HP has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.900-3.100 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.610-0.710 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that HP Inc. will post 2.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HP Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. HP's dividend payout ratio is 44.28%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider David P. Mcquarrie sold 21,048 shares of HP stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.98, for a total transaction of $631,019.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 39,580 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,620 shares of company stock valued at $1,478,622. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HP

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HPQ. IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of HP by 3.3% during the second quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,470 shares of the computer maker's stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in HP by 0.6% in the second quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 69,579 shares of the computer maker's stock valued at $1,702,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in HP by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 5,020 shares of the computer maker's stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. increased its position in HP by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 20,531 shares of the computer maker's stock valued at $559,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in HP by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 80,784 shares of the computer maker's stock worth $1,772,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. 77.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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