HP (NYSE:HPQ) Stock Price Down 4.8% – Time to Sell?

HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) shares traded down 4.8% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $23.01 and last traded at $23.2570. 3,476,786 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 9,437,315 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.43.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research downgraded HP from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of HP in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Argus upgraded HP to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on HP from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on HP from $27.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note 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 issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.69.

HP Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $25.64 and a 200 day moving average of $26.03. The company has a market capitalization of $21.33 billion, a PE ratio of 8.77, a P/E/G ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 1.22.

HP (NYSE:HPQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 25th. The computer maker reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $14.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.50 billion. HP had a negative return on equity of 330.68% and a net margin of 4.57%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. 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, research analysts anticipate that HP Inc. will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

HP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.2%. HP’s payout ratio is currently 45.28%.

Insider Transactions at HP

In other news, CEO Enrique Lores sold 41,922 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.00, for a total transaction of $1,089,972.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 141,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,677,856. The trade was a 22.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Anneliese Olson sold 18,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.88, for a total transaction of $506,133.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,711.72. The trade was a 99.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 111,084 shares of company stock valued at $2,931,884. 0.38% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HP

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of HP during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in HP by 2,346.5% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in HP during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Westfuller Advisors LLC bought a new stake in HP during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of HP by 492.6% during the 2nd quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. 77.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.