Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $19.87, but opened at $20.95. Hewlett Packard Enterprise shares last traded at $20.25, with a volume of 2,020,767 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HPE. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. Finally, Susquehanna restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hewlett Packard Enterprise presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.46.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Stock Up 2.7 %

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $19.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.19.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The technology company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.03. Hewlett Packard Enterprise had a net margin of 6.39% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The business had revenue of $7.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.35 earnings per share. Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Hewlett Packard Enterprise will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 19th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 19th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.96%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Antonio F. Neri sold 250,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total transaction of $5,182,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,508,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,274,127.93. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Hewlett Packard Enterprise news, CEO Antonio F. Neri sold 83,334 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.72, for a total transaction of $1,643,346.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,758,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,680,400.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Antonio F. Neri sold 250,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total transaction of $5,182,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,508,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,274,127.93. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 426,012 shares of company stock valued at $8,599,617 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital Investment Counsel Inc grew its stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 1.2% in the second quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 41,269 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $874,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 4.8% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 0.5% in the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 111,617 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,363,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. increased its position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 1.7% during the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 35,349 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $748,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 23,583 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $483,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.