HP (NYSE:HPQ) Rating Lowered to Neutral at Bank of America

Bank of America downgraded shares of HP (NYSE:HPQ) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report report published on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Bank of America currently has $37.00 target price on the computer maker’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on HP from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Citigroup boosted their target price on HP from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of HP from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of HP from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of HP from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $35.55.

HP Stock Down 3.9 %

Shares of HPQ stock opened at $35.41 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.65 billion, a PE ratio of 11.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.07. HP has a 52 week low of $25.22 and a 52 week high of $39.52. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $34.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.24.

HP (NYSE:HPQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The computer maker reported $0.83 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. HP’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that HP will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current year.

HP declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, August 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the computer maker to buy up to 28.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at HP

In other HP news, CEO Enrique Lores sold 211,501 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.16, for a total value of $7,013,373.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $99.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sawyer & Company Inc lifted its position in shares of HP by 900.0% in the 1st quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc now owns 1,000 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC increased its position in HP by 377.9% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,061 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 839 shares during the period. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in HP in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of HP during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, DecisionPoint Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of HP in the second quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors own 77.53% of the company’s stock.

About HP

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.