HP Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:HPQ)

HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors acquired 26,656 put options on the company. This is an increase of 62% compared to the typical volume of 16,443 put options.

HP Trading Down 2.3%

HPQ stock traded down $0.54 during trading on Monday, hitting $22.72. 11,537,239 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,574,912. The stock has a market cap of $20.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.57, a P/E/G ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 1.22. HP has a one year low of $21.21 and a one year high of $35.28. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.97.

HP (NYSE:HPQ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 25th. The computer maker reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. HP had a net margin of 4.57% and a negative return on equity of 330.68%. The company had revenue of $14.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.50 billion. HP’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.93 earnings per share. 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, analysts predict that HP will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HP Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 11th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 11th. This is a positive change from HP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. HP’s payout ratio is currently 45.28%.

Insider Activity at HP

In other news, CEO Enrique Lores sold 41,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.00, for a total value of $1,089,972.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 141,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,677,856. This trade represents a 22.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Anneliese Olson sold 18,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.88, for a total value of $506,133.52. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 169 shares in the company, valued at $4,711.72. The trade was a 99.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 76,802 shares of company stock worth $2,011,412. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of HP

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in HP in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of HP by 2,346.5% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HP in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Westfuller Advisors LLC acquired a new position in HP during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC grew its stake in HP by 492.6% in the second quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HPQ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of HP in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Citigroup reduced their price objective on HP from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of HP from $27.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of HP from $28.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of HP from $29.00 to $25.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, HP presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.69.

HP Company Profile

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.