Big publications like the WSJ frequently have an official "style guide" -- an internal document that specifies for the sake of consistency how people who write for them should handle things like acronyms, abbreviations, punctuation, slang terms, and so forth. Sometimes they also make these documents available for sale to the public. The WSJ does that: http://www.amazon.com/Street-Journal-Guide-Business-Guides/d...

If you're logged into Amazon when visiting that page, use their "Look Inside" view and search for "Hewlett" and it'll jump you right to their style rules for stories about HP.

WSJ seems to do it regularly in 2015[1], though they're not totally consistent.

[1] https://www.google.com/search?q=h-p+site%3Awsj.com&oq=h-p+si...

Consider using a 0 based index, instead of 1, as it is easier on the eyes.

From what I understand "HP" is the old combined business and the new consumer business.

HPE and H-P refer to "Hewlett-Packard Enterprise" the new spin off.