Shares of HP Inc (HPQ) fell in after-hours trading after the personal computer manufacturer reported earnings for its third quarter of Fiscal Year 2024. Earnings per share came in at $0.83, which missed analysts’ consensus estimate of $0.86 per share. Sales increased by 2.4% year-over-year, with revenue hitting $13.52 billion. This beat analysts’ expectations of $13.36 billion.
Looking forward, management now expects adjusted earnings per share for Q4 2024 and FY 2024 to be in the ranges of $0.89 to $0.99 and $3.35 to $3.45, respectively. For reference, analysts were expecting $0.95 per share for the former and $3.45 per share for the latter.
HPQ Returns Money to Shareholders
During the third quarter, HPQ returned $900 million to shareholders. Dividends made up $300 million, or $0.2756 per share, while buybacks made up the remaining $600 million. The firm has regularly repurchased its shares in each of its recent quarters (as demonstrated in the image below). In addition, HPQ has increased its share repurchase authorization to a total of $10 billion.
Is HPQ Stock a Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on HPQ stock based on four Buys, six Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 16% rally in its share price over the past year, the average HPQ price target of $35.09 per share implies 0.14% downside risk. However, it’s worth noting that estimates will likely change following today’s earnings report.
