Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) Raised to "Strong-Buy" at Citigroup

Key Points

• Hewlett Packard Enterprise has been upgraded to a "strong-buy" rating by Citigroup, reflecting increased analyst confidence in the company.
• The stock's price target varies among analysts, with Barclays raising it from $24.00 to $26.00 and JPMorgan setting it at $30.00.
• Hewlett Packard Enterprise reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.38, exceeding expectations and showcasing a revenue increase of 5.9% year-over-year.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Citigroup to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on HPE. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $14.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hewlett Packard Enterprise has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.67.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Stock Performance

NYSE HPE traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $20.88. The company had a trading volume of 21,447,908 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,381,004. 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 cap of $27.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.47. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a fifty-two week low of $11.97 and a fifty-two week high of $24.66.

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

Insider Activity at Hewlett Packard Enterprise

In other Hewlett Packard Enterprise news, EVP Phil Mottram sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.54, for a total transaction of $616,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $871,450.58. This represents a 41.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jeremy Cox sold 68,590 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.44, for a total transaction of $1,264,799.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 128,590 shares of company stock valued at $2,436,000 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 167,199,996 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,579,896,000 after purchasing an additional 2,779,446 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 32,173,982 shares of the technology company's stock worth $686,011,000 after purchasing an additional 681,242 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 17,584,742 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $271,333,000 after acquiring an additional 2,373,850 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,730,015 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $258,144,000 after purchasing an additional 545,775 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 1,369.1% in the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 16,279,442 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $251,192,000 after purchasing an additional 15,171,314 shares during the period. 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.