HP (NYSE:HPQ) Downgraded to “Neutral” at Bank of America

Bank of America lowered shares of HP (NYSE:HPQ) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note released on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has $37.00 target price on the computer maker’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on HPQ. UBS Group lifted their price target on HP from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Loop Capital cut their target price on HP from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. TD Cowen increased their price target on HP from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Citigroup raised their price objective on HP from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of HP from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $35.55.

HP Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:HPQ opened at $35.88 on Friday. HP has a 12 month low of $25.56 and a 12 month high of $39.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.12, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.28.

HP (NYSE:HPQ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The computer maker reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.03). HP had a net margin of 5.33% and a negative return on equity of 266.37%. The firm had revenue of $13.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that HP will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HP declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, August 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the computer maker to repurchase up to 28.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Enrique Lores sold 211,501 shares of HP stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.16, for a total value of $7,013,373.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $99.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HP

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in HP during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in HP in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Sawyer & Company Inc grew its stake in HP by 900.0% in the 1st quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc now owns 1,000 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC raised its holdings in HP by 377.9% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,061 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares during the period. Finally, DecisionPoint Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HP during the second quarter worth $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.53% of the company’s stock.

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.