HP (HPQ) Advances While Market Declines: Some Information for Investors
HP (HPQ) closed at $36.05 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.59% move from the prior day. The stock's performance was ahead of the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.19%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.7%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.04%.
The personal computer and printer maker's shares have seen an increase of 0.67% over the last month, not keeping up with the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 0.73% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.95%.
The upcoming earnings release of HP will be of great interest to investors. On that day, HP is projected to report earnings of $0.93 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 3.33%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $13.96 billion, up 1% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $3.39 per share and revenue of $53.46 billion. These totals would mark changes of +3.35% and -0.55%, respectively, from last year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for HP should also be noted by investors. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the company's business and profitability.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 1.74% lower. HP is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
In terms of valuation, HP is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 10.59. This signifies a discount in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 14.46 for its industry.
It's also important to note that HPQ currently trades at a PEG ratio of 2.39. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. The Computer - Micro Computers industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.75 as of yesterday's close.
The Computer - Micro Computers industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 176, positioning it in the bottom 31% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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HP Inc. (HPQ) : Free Stock Analysis Report