Citigroup Increases Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) Price Target to $26.00

Key Points

• Citigroup has raised its price target for Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) from $25.00 to $26.00, suggesting an upside potential of 8.62% from the current stock price.
• In addition to Citigroup, multiple analysts have provided positive ratings on HPE, with Evercore ISI setting a target of $28.00 and Morgan Stanley upgrading their target to $28.00 as well.
• Hewlett Packard Enterprise reported better-than-expected earnings with $0.38 EPS, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.33, and shown a revenue increase of 5.9% year-over-year.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by research analysts at Citigroup from $25.00 to $26.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the technology company's stock. Citigroup's price objective indicates a potential upside of 8.62% from the company's current price.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. They set a "sector weight" rating for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Hewlett Packard Enterprise from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $22.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Loop Capital increased their target price on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.67.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Price Performance

Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock traded up $1.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $23.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 27,486,280 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,002,580. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.43. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a twelve month low of $11.97 and a twelve month high of $24.66. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $21.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.38.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 3rd. The technology company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.05. Hewlett Packard Enterprise had a net margin of 4.60% and a return on equity of 9.59%. The firm had revenue of $7.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Hewlett Packard Enterprise will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Phil Mottram sold 30,000 shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.54, for a total transaction of $616,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $871,450.58. The trade was a 41.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Antonio F. Neri sold 166,666 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.52, for a total transaction of $3,753,318.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,919,060 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,217,231.20. The trade was a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 378,590 shares of company stock valued at $8,106,833 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the 1st quarter valued at $301,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 22.5% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 153,320 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,421,000 after acquiring an additional 28,123 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the first quarter valued at approximately $164,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 2.3% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 31,437 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $492,000 after acquiring an additional 699 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 21.2% during the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 14,108 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $218,000 after acquiring an additional 2,466 shares in the last quarter. 80.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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