S&P: HP unchanged

Standard & Poor's said that its ratings on Hewlett-Packard Co. (A/stable/A-1) are not affected by the company's announcement that it has authorized an $8 billion share repurchase program, in addition to the $3 billion of authorization remaining on the $8 billion program approved in November 2007.

The company has a well-established track record of balancing share repurchases with acquisitions, using internally generated cash flow to fund shareholder appreciation activity, the agency said, adding that it expects Hewlett-Packard to balance the recent spike in leverage caused by the $13 billion acquisition of EDS Corp. with moderated share repurchase activity.

The agency noted that it expects the company to maintain a lightly leveraged capital structure, with debt to EBITDA of about 1x over time.

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