In the latest close session, HP (HPQ) was down 1.95% at $26.70. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.34% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.09%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 0.42%.
The personal computer and printer maker's shares have seen a decrease of 5.91% over the last month, not keeping up with the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 8.07% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.54%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of HP in its upcoming release. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.91, down 2.15% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $14.46 billion, indicating a 2.91% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $3.1 per share and revenue of $54.99 billion, indicating changes of -8.28% and +2.67%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for HP. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the business health and profitability.
Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed an unchanged state. HP is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
In terms of valuation, HP is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 8.77. This represents a discount compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 13.57.
Investors should also note that HPQ has a PEG ratio of 2.19 right now. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Computer - Micro Computers industry held an average PEG ratio of 1.54.
The Computer - Micro Computers industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 19, placing it within the top 8% of over 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.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
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HP Inc. (HPQ): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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