Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of HP Put Options (NYSE:HPQ)

HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 50,951 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 76% compared to the average daily volume of 28,891 put options.

HP Stock Performance

HPQ traded down $1.68 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $26.73. 9,900,112 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,887,160. HP has a 1 year low of $17.56 and a 1 year high of $29.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.44 billion, a PE ratio of 9.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $24.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.33.

HP (NYSE:HPQ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The computer maker reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.14. HP had a net margin of 4.45% and a negative return on equity of 581.36%. The company had revenue of $14.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. HP has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.900-3.100 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.610-0.710 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that HP will post 2.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HP Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. HP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at HP

In other news, insider David P. Mcquarrie sold 10,524 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.68, for a total transaction of $259,732.32. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 92,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,275,496. This represents a 10.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Garner Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of HP during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new position in HP during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in HP during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in HP by 97.0% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the computer maker’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 646 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Union Savings Bank bought a new stake in HP in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HPQ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of HP from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of HP from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of HP from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded HP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on HP from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $23.33.

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.