The most recent trading session ended with HP (HPQ) standing at $33.33, reflecting a +1.83% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.46%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.65%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 3.07%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the personal computer and printer maker had lost 1.65% over the past month. This has lagged the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 0.43% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.08% in that time.
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 $0.74, down 8.64% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $13.48 billion, up 2.25% from the year-ago period.
Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $3.56 per share and revenue of $55.11 billion, indicating changes of +5.33% and +2.89%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for HP. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been no change in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. As of now, HP holds a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, HP is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 9.2. This signifies a discount in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 13.2 for its industry.
It is also worth noting that HPQ currently has a PEG ratio of 2.79. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. HPQ's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.63 as of yesterday's close.
The Computer - Micro Computers industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 179, placing it within the bottom 29% 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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