Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume on Analyst Upgrade

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday after Loop Capital raised their price target on the stock from $16.00 to $18.00. Loop Capital currently has a hold rating on the stock. Approximately 7,837,137 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 48% from the previous session’s volume of 15,017,949 shares.The stock last traded at $16.22 and had previously closed at $17.60.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $14.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Susquehanna reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hewlett Packard Enterprise news, CEO Gerri Gold sold 22,784 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.67, for a total transaction of $493,729.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 57,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,236,945.27. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 571.5% in the second quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 1,343 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,143 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 253.9% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,465 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 224.5% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,853 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,282 shares during the period. Finally, American National Bank lifted its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 89.4% in the first quarter. American National Bank now owns 1,949 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 920 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.78% of the company’s stock.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $21.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $19.31 and its 200 day moving average is $18.53.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The technology company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $7.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.67 billion. Hewlett Packard Enterprise had a net margin of 6.39% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Hewlett Packard Enterprise will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 19th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 19th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s payout ratio is currently 37.96%.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company Profile

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company provides solutions that allow customers to capture, analyze, and act upon data seamlessly in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Japan. It operates in six segments: Compute, HPC & AI, Storage, Intelligent Edge, Financial Services, and Corporate Investments and Other.