Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $21.46.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised Hewlett Packard Enterprise from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America upgraded Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $21.00 to $24.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Citigroup started coverage on Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Price Performance

HPE opened at $21.07 on Friday. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a 12-month low of $14.47 and a 12-month high of $22.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.05, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $19.80 and a 200-day moving average of $19.40.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.03. Hewlett Packard Enterprise had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 6.39%. The firm had revenue of $7.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.67 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.35 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Hewlett Packard Enterprise will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 19th were paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 19th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s payout ratio is presently 37.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hewlett Packard Enterprise news, EVP Neil B. Macdonald sold 29,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.00, for a total value of $493,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 82,061 shares in the company, valued at $1,395,037. This trade represents a 26.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Jeremy Cox sold 7,770 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.00, for a total transaction of $163,170.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $163,191. This represents a 50.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 426,012 shares of company stock valued at $8,599,617. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 571.5% in the 2nd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 1,343 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 1,143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 80.3% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,430 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 637 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.78% of the company’s stock.

About Hewlett Packard Enterprise

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.