HP buys a rival printer maker

Article Excerpt

HP INC. $19 (New York symbol HPQ; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 1.7 billion; Market cap: $32.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend yield: 2.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.hp.com) makes computers and printers. It expects to complete its $1.05 billion purchase of the printer operations of South Korea’s Samsung Electronics later this year. The new operations should add to HP’s earnings in the first year. The deal will also give the company access to Samsung’s advanced printers and copiers. That includes leading wireless and data security technology. In addition, the purchase will expand HP’s presence in Asia. Meantime, the company earned $646 million in its fiscal 2017 first quarter, ended January 31, 2017. That’s up 0.2% from $645 million a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 5.6%, to $0.38 from $0.36, on fewer shares outstanding. Overall sales gained 3.6%, to $12.7 billion from $12.2 billion. Personal computer sales (65% of the total) rose 10.1%. That’s because HP raised its…