HP (NYSE:HPQ) Downgraded to Underweight Rating by Barclays

Barclays downgraded shares of HP (NYSE:HPQ) from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating in a research note published on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Barclays currently has $18.00 price target on the computer maker’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on HPQ. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of HP from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded HP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 26th. Hsbc Global Res raised HP from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. UBS Group set a $24.00 price objective on HP in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Argus upgraded HP to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.00.

HP Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE HPQ opened at $20.39 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.66. HP has a twelve month low of $19.98 and a twelve month high of $35.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 1.21.

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

HP Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, December 11th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 11th. This is a positive change from HP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. HP’s dividend payout ratio is 45.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at HP

In other news, insider Anneliese Olson sold 16,726 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.83, for a total transaction of $415,306.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,196.27. This represents a 99.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ketan M. Patel sold 33,321 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.19, for a total transaction of $772,713.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 34,572 shares in the company, valued at $801,724.68. This represents a 49.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 110,123 shares of company stock worth $2,784,126. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HP

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in HP by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 129,658,754 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $3,530,608,000 after purchasing an additional 3,122,436 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of HP by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 52,703,639 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $1,450,245,000 after buying an additional 2,651,623 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox increased its stake in shares of HP by 4.6% during the second quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 34,943,498 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $854,718,000 after buying an additional 1,537,945 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of HP by 1.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,187,203 shares of the computer maker’s stock valued at $638,720,000 after acquiring an additional 424,544 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in HP by 15.9% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,146,875 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $321,573,000 after acquiring an additional 1,806,246 shares during the period. 77.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting HP

Here are the key news stories impacting HP this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat highlights HPQ as a low P/E, high-yield candidate that could rebound as DRAM supply/cost dynamics normalize and dividend support attracts income investors; the piece argues upside potential if sentiment stabilizes. 3 Low P/E Stocks: Separating Multibaggers From a Value Trap
• Positive Sentiment: HP’s Metal Jet business gets a small operational boost: INDO‑MIM qualified Continuum Powders’ OptiPowder Ni718 for production on HP Metal Jet systems, expanding U.S. industrial use cases and supporting industrial revenue potential. INDO‑MIM Qualifies Continuum Powders’ OptiPowder Ni718 on HP Metal Jet Systems
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America Securities kept a Hold rating and a $26 price target, signaling no change in the analyst view but implying upside from current levels if fundamentals stabilize. Bank of America Securities Maintains Hold Rating on HP Inc. (HPQ) Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays downgraded HP to underweight and cut its price target to $18 (from $24), citing secular challenges and a “lack of catalyst” — a key driver of today’s selloff as it signals lower near-term expectations. Barclays cuts HPQ on secular challenges and a ’lack of catalyst’
• Negative Sentiment: Raymond James also downgraded HP to Sell, adding to analyst momentum to the downside and increasing downward pressure on sentiment. Raymond James downgrades HP (HPQ) to a Sell
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple analyst downgrades produced an early pre‑market drop (~3%), reflecting coordinated sell-side concern about near-term growth and margin risks. HP Inc. Stock (HPQ) Drops 3% Pre-Market as Analysts Downgrade Rating to Sell
• Negative Sentiment: HP hit a 52‑week low amid the selloff, reflecting deteriorating technicals and elevated short-term downside risk. HP stock hits 52-week low at $20.64
• Negative Sentiment: Industry cost headwinds: rising memory prices are benefiting chipmakers but pressuring OEMs including Apple and HP, which could compress margins if costs persist. Soaring Memory Prices Lift Chipmakers, Pressure Apple and HP

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.