Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on HP (NYSE:HPQ)

HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders bought 24,846 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 85% compared to the average volume of 13,410 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Anneliese Olson sold 21,545 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.49, for a total value of $613,817.05. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 169 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,814.81. This trade represents a 99.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Stephanie Liebman sold 15,646 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total value of $453,734.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.38% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HP

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HPQ. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in HP in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in HP in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in HP in the first quarter worth $35,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in HP during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in HP during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.53% of the company's stock.

HP Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HPQ traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $25.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,430,034 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,853,122. HP has a 52 week low of $21.21 and a 52 week high of $39.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $25.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.65 billion, a PE ratio of 8.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.30.

HP (NYSE:HPQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The computer maker reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.80 by ($0.09). HP had a negative return on equity of 253.39% and a net margin of 5.18%. The business had revenue of $13.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that HP will post 3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HP Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.2894 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.60%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 11th. HP's payout ratio is presently 44.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group decreased their price objective on HP from $37.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of HP from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on HP from $40.00 to $32.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of HP from $38.00 to $28.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on HP from $29.00 to $27.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $29.54.

HP Company Profile

HP Inc provides products, technologies, software, solutions, and services to individual consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses, and large enterprises, including customers in the government, health, and education sectors worldwide. It operates through Personal Systems and Printing segments. The Personal Systems segment offers commercial personal computers (PCs), consumer PCs, workstations, thin clients, commercial tablets and mobility devices, retail point-of-sale systems, displays and other related accessories, software, support, and services for the commercial and consumer markets.