HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) Short Interest Update

HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) saw a large decrease in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 42,820,000 shares, a decrease of 5.5% from the September 30th total of 45,310,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,500,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.7 days. Approximately 4.5% of the company’s stock are sold short.

HP Stock Performance

Shares of HPQ stock traded down $0.94 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $35.60. 2,706,517 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,771,523. The firm has a market cap of $34.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.29. HP has a twelve month low of $25.95 and a twelve month high of $39.52.

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

HP announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, August 28th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the computer maker to purchase up to 28.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HP news, CEO Enrique Lores sold 211,501 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $99.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HP

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Chris Bulman Inc purchased a new stake in shares of HP during the 2nd quarter worth about $88,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in HP by 27.5% in the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 106,316 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $3,213,000 after acquiring an additional 22,909 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in shares of HP by 85.9% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 174,585 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $5,275,000 after purchasing an additional 80,670 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of HP by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,819,100 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $85,193,000 after purchasing an additional 37,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in HP in the second quarter worth $621,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup cut shares of HP from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Bank of America lowered HP from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Barclays dropped their target price on HP from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of HP from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.55.

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.