HPQ - HP Inc.
| Previous Close | 22.24 |
| Open | 22.35 |
| Bid | 22.49 x 4000 |
| Ask | 22.50 x 1000 |
| Day's Range | 22.24 - 22.63 |
| 52 Week Range | 15.93 - 24.09 |
| Volume | 6,251,962 |
| Avg. Volume | 10,132,690 |
| Market Cap | 32.595B |
| Beta (5Y Monthly) | 1.55 |
| PE Ratio (TTM) | 10.84 |
| EPS (TTM) | 2.07 |
| Earnings Date | Feb 23, 2020 |
| Forward Dividend & Yield | 0.70 (3.17%) |
| Ex-Dividend Date | Mar 09, 2020 |
| 1y Target Est | 21.09 |
- GlobeNewswire
HP Joins Initiative to Establish Industry-Standard Benchmarks for Printer Security
HP Inc. today announced its commitment to driving more stringent industry standards for printer security. As part of this effort, HP has joined the Buyers Lab (BLI) Security Validation Testing program for MFPs and printers.
- Zacks
HP (HPQ) Set to Report Q1 Earnings: What's in the Cards?
HP's (HPQ) first-quarter fiscal 2020 performance is likely to have benefited from increasing demand in the commercial PC market. However, weakness in the Printing business might have been a headwind.
- Zacks
HP (HPQ) Reports Next Week: Wall Street Expects Earnings Growth
HP (HPQ) doesn't possess the right combination of the two key ingredients for a likely earnings beat in its upcoming report. Get prepared with the key expectations.
- Reuters
Xerox courts HP shareholders as takeover battle heats up
The charm offensive comes after Xerox raised its cash-and-stock bid for HP last week by $2 to $24 per share ahead of a tender offer it plans to launch in early March. It is also asking HP shareholders to replace HP's board directors with Xerox's nominees at the company's annual shareholder meeting later this year. It told investors last week it wants them to have "full information" on the company before responding publicly to Xerox.
- GuruFocus.com
Seth Klarman's Top 4th-Quarter Trades
The Baupost Group invests in HP and Eldorado, sells out of Takeda Continue reading...
- Barrons.com
Hedge-Fund Investor Dan Loeb Bought Stock in Amazon and 2 More Companies
The sometimes activist investor is known for recently pushing for changes at Campbell Soup and Nestlé.
- GlobeNewswire
HP Recognized for Design Excellence with 12 iF DESIGN 2020 Awards
HP Inc. is a winner of this year’s iF DESIGN AWARD, the world-renowned design prize. The winning 12 products highlight the company’s innovative portfolio spanning Personal Systems and Print. Each year, the world’s oldest independent design organization, Hannover-based iF International Forum Design GmbH, organizes the iF DESIGN AWARD.
- Barrons.com
HP Hints It Won’t Support Xerox’s Higher Bid. A Stock Buyback Is Looking Likely.
Something is brewing at HP, and there are hints that Xerox might not like what the company has in mind.
- Bloomberg
Xerox Mimics Icahn’s Pugnacity in Pursuit of HP
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- As a general rule, I’m not a big fan of corporations being guided by corporate raiders, a.k.a. shareholder activists. They tend to rely on financial engineering to boost the stock price; cut back on “expenses” like customer service and research and development; and run for the exits when they see the roof caving in.But Xerox Holdings Corp. may be the exception. The company’s biggest shareholder is the activist of activists, 83-year-old Carl Icahn, who controls around 11% of the stock. The chairman, Keith Cozza, is the chief executive officer of Icahn Enterprises LP, Icahn’s holding company. One board member, Nicholas Graziano, is a portfolio manager with Icahn Capital LP, Icahn’s hedge fund. Another is John Christodoro, a former managing partner at Icahn Capital.And John Visentin, the Xerox CEO, while not an Icahn guy the way the other three are, clearly sees eye to eye with the big dog. He got the job in no small part because he agreed with Icahn that Xerox’s planned merger with Fujifilm Holdings Corp. was a bad idea. When Xerox pulled out of the deal in May 2018 — and agreed to put Icahn’s allies on the board — Visentin, who had backed away from negotiating with the previous board, was installed as the new boss.It’s hardly news that Icahn is an aggressive investor. What is news is that under Visentin, Xerox — lumbering, old-school Xerox — has become just as aggressive. He has managed to breathe new life into the 113-year-old printer company. He’s doing the share buyback thing, but he’s also streamlined the company, increased free cash flow and consistently beat the Street’s expectations even as revenue has continued to decrease gradually. According to Bloomberg data, the share price rose 87% last year, a number not seen in many years.Of course, the most visible manifestation of this new aggressiveness is Xerox’s effort to buy its much larger rival HP Inc. The attempt, which became public in November — soon after an unimpressive HP analysts’ meeting — heated up on Monday when Xerox raised its offer to $24 a share from $22, bringing its bid to $35 billion. Talk about the minnow trying to swallow the whale. Xerox has $9 billion in revenue. HP has $58 billion. Xerox has a market cap of $8 billion. HP has a market cap of $31 billion. Not all that long ago, an audacious move like this by Xerox would have been unthinkable.And HP? Nearly eight decades ago, it was the original Silicon Valley startup, the avatar of the tech industry. But by the 1980s, it had congealed in its own bureaucracy, and a kind of paralysis set in, compounded by some well-publicized gaffes. In 2015, in an effort to create a more nimble culture, the board split the company in two. Hewlett Packard Enterprise got the software and services side of the company, while HP kept printers and laptops. Last year, HP’s stock was down 21% before Xerox announced its intentions in early November.The essential problem is that the printer business is in a slow but steady decline — and like newspapers, cable television and many other businesses, that decline is likely irreversible. For HP, the decline is made worse because it makes most of its money in the printer division by selling expensive ink cartridges — and many consumers buy less expensive cartridges made by competitors.At the analyst meeting in October, HP announced that it would eliminate up to 9,000 jobs by 2022, saving $1 billion, and would turn to a subscription model to revive its flagging cartridge business. Analysts were unimpressed, and in the aftermath of the meeting, the stock dropped 9.4%In Icahn-like fashion, this was exactly the moment Visentin pounced. Xerox, of course, has the same problem as HP — its printer business is declining — and it doesn’t have other businesses, like laptops, to soften the blow. The shrinking of the printer business has convinced Visentin that industry consolidation is inevitable; in a statement at the time of the original offer, Xerox said that “our industry is overdue for consolidation, and those who move first will have a distinct advantage.”In the materials it has provided to HP shareholders, Xerox claims that a merger will have synergies worth $2 billion and will generate nearly $6 billion in free cash flow. And Visentin plans to use that money less to manage the decline than to buy smaller, more innovative companies while investing in research and development that will allow the company to chart a new course that will generate growth and profits.There is no way of knowing whether Visentin can pull this off if he lands HP, though his track record so far at Xerox should give shareholders hope. Indeed, he is so clearly right about the first-mover advantage of consolidation that what HP really ought to do is turn around and make a tender offer for Xerox, which would require a lot less debt. And then it should install Visentin as CEO.Instead, HP has reverted to form, contending that the Xerox bid is inadequate, that its financing is shaky and generally avoiding coming to grips with reality. But sometime soon, HP will have to set the date for its annual meeting, and at that point its shareholders will have a say in the matter. Xerox, ever the aggressor, is proposing a slate of directors to replace HP’s current board.I know one big shareholder who will vote for the Xerox slate. A few months ago, Icahn bought 4% of HP’s stock. HP’s odds of going it alone much longer aren’t good at all.To contact the author of this story: Joe Nocera at jnocera3@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Daniel Niemi at dniemi1@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.Joe Nocera is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering business. He has written business columns for Esquire, GQ and the New York Times, and is the former editorial director of Fortune. His latest project is the Bloomberg-Wondery podcast "The Shrink Next Door."For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Bloomberg
HP to Respond to Xerox’s $35 Billion Offer on Feb. 24
(Bloomberg) -- HP Inc. said it will respond to Xerox Holdings Corp.’s planned tender offer on Feb. 24, when the company reports earnings, again promising shareholders a path to boost the personal-computer maker’s value.“HP will share additional information about its plan to drive sustainable long-term value for its shareholders, including through the execution of the company’s multi-year strategic and financial plan and the deployment of its strong balance sheet,” the Palo Alto, California-based company said Tuesday in a statement.Xerox said Monday it will launch a tender offer “on or around March 2” with a bid of $24 per share in cash and stock, a $2 per share increase from an unsolicited takeover offer to HP’s board in November. For each HP share, a holder would get $18.40 in cash and 0.149 Xerox shares. The offer won’t be subject to any conditions related to financing or due diligence, Xerox said Monday. The printer maker has already begun a proxy battle for control of HP, nominating 11 directors to replace its rival’s board.Analysts project that HP will report profit, excluding some expenses, of 55 cents per share on revenue of $14.6 billion in the fiscal first quarter, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That would mean a 1% reduction in sales compared with a year earlier, reflecting softer demand for the company’s ink supplies as consumers and businesses print less.Xerox also has struggled to cope with those changing market tastes, and last year announced plans to cut $640 million in expenses. Annual revenue declined 8% to $9.1 billion in 2019, with analysts projecting another 5% decrease this year.HP has said it has many routes to create value for shareholders that aren’t dependent on a combination with Xerox. Chief Executive Officer Enrique Lores, who has worked at the company for more than three decades, is still new to HP’s top job. Lores said he wants to make printing services, 3-D printing and high-end computers a larger part of HP’s business, and would oversee as much as a 16% reduction in the company’s workforce in a bid to cut costs. Xerox CEO John Visentin has criticized this plan as a piecemeal approach that won’t be as beneficial to HP as a combination.(Corrects date for the planned tender offer in the third paragraph.)To contact the reporter on this story: Nico Grant in San Francisco at ngrant20@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Jillian Ward at jward56@bloomberg.net, Andrew PollackFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- GuruFocus.com
Dodge & Cox Ups Stake in HP
The firm is maintaining its position as the company’s top shareholder Continue reading...
- GlobeNewswire
HP Inc. to Announce First Quarter Fiscal 2020 Earnings on February 24, 2020
HP Inc. (HPQ) today announced that it will present a live audio webcast of a conference call to review financial results for the first fiscal quarter ended January 31, 2020 on Monday, February 24, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. ET / 2:00 p.m. PT. At that time, when out of its quiet period, HP will share additional information about its plan to drive sustainable long-term value for its shareholders, including through the execution of the Company’s multi-year strategic and financial plan and the deployment of its strong balance sheet. HP wants its shareholders to have full information on the Company’s earnings and the value inherent in the Company before responding to Xerox’s February 10 press release.
- Bloomberg
Xerox’s Higher Bid Might Be Enough to Bring HP to the Table
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- In the lumbering takeover battle for HP Inc., Carl Icahn-backed Xerox Holdings Corp. had been wielding plenty of stick, so it was about time for some carrot. What came was more of a crudite, but it might just be the appetizer that HP needs.In the three months since Xerox’s initial bid, Icahn, who’s already the biggest investor in Xerox, took a 4% stake in HP. Xerox started a proxy fight for control of HP’s board and lobbied shareholders directly for support. On Monday, it finally improved the terms of the bid, increasing its offer to $24 a share from the initial $22.The bump may not be enough to get a deal over the line, but it ought to at least give HP Chief Executive Officer Enrique Lores good reason to start formal talks. So far, HP has rejected the approaches and declined to negotiate. Should he do so now, he does so in the knowledge that he still has a stronger hand than his Xerox counterpart, John Visentin.The extra $2 a share translates to a price increase of a little more than $3 billion, valuing HP at $35 billion excluding debt. And debt is a sticking point. As it stands, the Palo Alto, California-based company has very little of it: Net debt represents just 0.1 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. To fund the acquisition, Xerox would most likely increase debt at the combined entity to more than four times Ebitda, essentially using up HP’s own debt capacity. HP could just as readily buy back its own shares and end up with a lower debt-to-Ebitda ratio than it would after a Xerox deal.That’s why the higher offer looks like Xerox’s best effort to get HP just to engage. Is there an industrial logic to the two firms tying up? Yes. The printer market is in structural decline, so combining resources makes sense, assuming regulatory approval isn’t an issue, which is a question mark.But if the argument is one of industrial logic, is it in the interest of the companies’ investors, which will both own a stake in the combined entity, to emerge with a significantly bigger debt pile to service? Probably not. Creating additional revenue, achieving cost synergies and maintaining investment-grade ratings could be challenging, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Robert Schiffman.It has always looked as if Xerox was just as interested in being acquired as it was being the acquirer, as I wrote in November. The fact that HP shareholders would own 49.95% of the combined entity under the latest offer, up from 48.9 % in the initial bid, seems to indicate which way the conversation is likely to head should serious negotiations begin. Lores will now find it easier to fight for more prominence for HP and its team and try to avoid the unpleasant distraction of a proxy fight.As it outlined the strategic logic for the deal, Xerox might have made its life more difficult by identifying about $2 billion in savings from combining operations. If that’s true, then it might afford more than the $24 a share on the table based on the net present value of those savings. But compared with HP’s undisturbed share price before the approach was first reported, Xerox is now offering a premium of more than 40%. That should be more than enough to move things along, even if Lores still has good reason to walk away.To contact the author of this story: Alex Webb at awebb25@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Daniel Niemi at dniemi1@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.Alex Webb is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Europe's technology, media and communications industries. He previously covered Apple and other technology companies for Bloomberg News in San Francisco.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Barrons.com
Xerox Just Raised Its Bid for HP and the Stock is Climbing
Xerox raised its offer to $24 a share, consisting of $18.40 in cash and 0.149 Xerox shares for each HP share. That values HP at $34.8 billion.
- Bloomberg
Xerox Increases Offer Price for HP to $24 a Share
(Bloomberg) -- Xerox Holdings Corp. increased its offer price for HP Inc. to $24 a share, boosting the bid by $2 a share in an effort to win control of the personal computer maker which has previously refused to engage in takeover talks because it said the offer was too low.Xerox said in a statement Monday it plans to launch a tender offer “on or around March 2” comprised of $18.40 in cash and 0.149 Xerox shares for each HP share. The offer won’t be subject to any conditions related to financing or due diligence. The offer represents a 41% premium to HP’s 30-day volume weighted average trading price of $17.00, Xerox said.The iconic, but struggling, printer maker said last month it planned to nominate 11 directors to replace the HP board in an effort to push the merger through.HP’s shareholders “consistently state that they want the enhanced returns, improved growth prospects and best-in-class human capital that will result from a combination of Xerox and HP,” Xerox said in the statement. The two hardware giants have withered in a world increasingly driven by software, and Xerox has argued the tie-up would revive both companies and unlock about $2 billion in synergies.A representative for HP wasn’t immediately available for comment. HP shares rose 4.5% to $22.71 at 9:31 a.m. in New York Monday. They’re down 1.3% in the past 12 months.HP has said in the past that it has many routes it could pursue to create value that aren’t dependent on a combination with Xerox, it said.Activist shareholder Carl Icahn, who owns about 11% of Xerox and has a 4.3% stake in HP, has pushed for the tie-up. The billionaire has considerable influence over Xerox because he is its largest shareholder. He also played a role in appointing Xerox’s CEO, who was a former consultant to Icahn, and has ties to members of the board, including its chairman, who is also the chief executive officer of Icahn Enterprises.(Updates shares in fifth paragraph. A previous version of this story corrected the cash portion of the offer)To contact the reporter on this story: Molly Schuetz in New York at mschuetz9@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Molly Schuetz at mschuetz9@bloomberg.net, Timothy Annett, Tony RobinsonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- TheStreet.com
Xerox Raises HP Inc. Bid to $24 a Share
Xerox is raising its bid for computer maker HP Inc. HPQ to $24 a share from its previous bid of $22.
- Reuters
Xerox sweetens offer for HP
Xerox said its latest offer comprises $18.40 in cash and 0.149 Xerox shares for each HP share — valuing the company at about $35 billion — and that it plans to launch a tender offer on or around March 2. HP shares rose nearly 3% to $22.31, while Xerox was up about 1%. Xerox said last month it planned to nominate 11 independent candidates to HP's board and that it had secured $24 billion in financing for the offer.
- MarketWatch
Xerox raises bid for HP to $24 a share
Xerox Corp. said in a Monday morning release that it was raising its offer for an HP Inc. buyout to $24 a share from $22. The offer would be made up of $18.40 in cash and 0.149 Xerox shares for each HP share. HP has been pushing back against Xerox's attempts to buy the company for months, and Xerox recently nominated a slate of candidates for HP's board in an attempt to win shareholder support for a deal. HP shares are up 5.6% in premarket trading Monday, after closing Friday at $21.73. The stock has gained 11.3% over the past three months, as the S&P 500 has risen 7.6%.
