HP (NYSE:HPQ) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $29.87 and last traded at $29.8950, with a volume of 8640687 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.18.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on HP from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of HP from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of HP from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of HP from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut HP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Two 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 MarketBeat, HP currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $23.33.

HP Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $24.94 and a 200-day moving average of $21.62. The stock has a market cap of $27.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.01, a PEG ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 1.17.

HP (NYSE:HPQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 27th. The computer maker reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. HP’s quarterly revenue 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, equities research analysts forecast that HP Inc. will post 2.98 EPS for the current year.

HP Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider David P. Mcquarrie sold 10,524 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.88, for a total value of $293,409.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 71,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,983,717.76. This trade represents a 12.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,572 shares of company stock worth $847,603. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HP

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HPQ. Garner Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in HP during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in HP during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of HP during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in HP by 97.0% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Union Savings Bank purchased a new stake in HP in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 77.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.