Dow Today: Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) Lower

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) is trading down 34.0 points (-0.3%) at 12,971 as of Wednesday, Feb 29, 2012, 11:35 a.m. ET. During this time, 307.9 million shares of the 30 Dow components have changed hands vs. an average daily trading volume of 818.6 million. The NYSE advances/declines ratio sits at 1,184 issues advancing vs. 1,711 declining with 130 unchanged.

Holding back the Dow today is Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ), which is lagging the broader Dow index with a 42-cent decline (-1.6%) bringing the stock to $25.76. This single loss is lowering the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 3.18 points or roughly accounting for 9.4% of the Dow's overall loss. Volume for Hewlett-Packard currently sits at 9.6 million shares traded vs. an average daily trading volume of 17.8 million shares.

Hewlett-Packard has a market cap of $56.58 billion and is part of the technology sector and computer hardware industry. Shares are up 1.6% year to date as of Tuesday's close. The stock's dividend yield sits at 1.8%.

Hewlett-Packard Company and its subsidiaries provide products, technologies, software, solutions, and services to individual consumers and small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), as well as to the government, health, and education sectors worldwide. The company has a P/E ratio of 9.1, above the average computer hardware industry P/E ratio of 8.6 and below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7.

TheStreet Ratings rates Hewlett-Packard as a hold. Among the primary strengths of the company is its attractive valuation levels, considering its current price compared to earnings, book value and other measures. At the same time, however, we also find weaknesses including deteriorating net income, poor profit margins and weak operating cash flow.

• You can view the full Hewlett-Packard Ratings Report.

For more information on Hewlett-Packard Co click any of the following:

• Hewlett-Packard Co Stock Price

• Hewlett-Packard Co Analyst Ratings

• Hewlett-Packard Co Key Stats & Profile

• Hewlett-Packard Co Earnings

• Hewlett-Packard Co Ratio Comparison

• Hewlett-Packard Co Growth Rates

• Hewlett-Packard Co Balance Sheet

• Hewlett-Packard Co Cash Flow

• Hewlett-Packard Co Income Statement