HP (NYSE:HPQ) Hits New 52-Week Low After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $25.00 to $22.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. HP traded as low as $19.58 and last traded at $19.7890, with a volume of 19617236 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.37.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on HPQ. Wall Street Zen cut shares of HP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 26th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $18.00 price target (down from $24.00) on shares of HP in a research note on Friday, January 16th. HSBC set a $30.00 target price on HP and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut HP from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $21.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded HP from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, HP presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.77.

Insider Transactions at HP

In other HP news, insider Ketan M. Patel sold 33,321 shares of HP stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.19, for a total value of $772,713.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 34,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $801,724.68. The trade was a 49.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Anneliese Olson sold 18,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This represents a 99.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 110,123 shares of company stock valued at $2,784,126 in the last quarter. 0.38% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting HP

Here are the key news stories impacting HP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HP’s CES AI PC push is reshaping its investment story — the company is positioning for AI‑enabled PCs which could lift higher‑margin hardware and services over time. How HP’s CES AI PC Push At HP (HPQ) Has Changed Its Investment Story
• Positive Sentiment: Options flow and contrarian commentary highlight investor interest amid a resurgent PC cycle — short‑term speculative buying could create episodic upside if macro demand confirms. HP (HPQ) Options Trade Flashes Courtesy of Resurgent PC Market
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation debate: a steep pullback and low P/E make HP look inexpensive to some investors, but the multiple also reflects skepticism about durable earnings growth. Assessing HP (HPQ) Valuation After A Steep Pullback And Low P/E Signal
• Neutral Sentiment: Competitive pressure from Apple’s Mac momentum and rising memory costs create a mixed outlook: product innovation helps some players while component inflation squeezes margins for PC OEMs. Apple vs HP: Who Gains as AI PCs Rise and Memory Costs Surge?
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays downgraded HP to Underweight and cut its target to $18, signaling fresh analyst skepticism and adding downward pressure. Barclays Downgrades HP Inc. (HPQ) to Underweight, Cuts Target to $18
• Negative Sentiment: Citigroup trimmed its price target (from $25 to $22) and other analysts followed with cautious notes, contributing to negative sentiment and technical selling. Citigroup lowers HP price target to $22 (TickerReport)
• Negative Sentiment: Shares have fallen for multiple consecutive sessions and reached a 12‑month low after recent downgrades, amplifying momentum losses and higher trading volume on the selloff. HP shares fell for seven consecutive sessions HP Reaches New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Market commentary notes the stock decline despite a broader market uptick — signaling stock‑specific weakness rather than sector‑wide pressure. HP (HPQ) Stock Falls Amid Market Uptick: What Investors Need to Know

Institutional Trading of HP

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of HP by 14.9% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,827 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC raised its position in HP by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 9,261 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its position in HP by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,470 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in HP by 42.9% during the 3rd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,349 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the period. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of HP by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 6,799 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $173,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. 77.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HP Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $23.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.21.

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

HP Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 11th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 6.1%. HP’s payout ratio is 45.28%.

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.