Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) Sets New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Hewlett Packard Enterprise's stock reached a new 52-week high of $25.16 during trading on Thursday, with a significant trading volume of 468,138 shares.
• Recent analyst upgrades have set higher target prices for HPE, with Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo increasing their target prices to $25.00 and $26.00, respectively.
• The company declared a dividend of $0.13 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.1%, set to be paid on October 17th to stockholders of record.

Shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE:HPE - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $25.16 and last traded at $25.14, with a volume of 468138 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $24.60.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on HPE. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.81.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Stock Up 2.1%

The business's 50 day moving average price is $21.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.14 billion, a PE ratio of 30.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 18th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 18th. Hewlett Packard Enterprise's payout ratio is 63.41%.

Insider Activity at Hewlett Packard Enterprise

In other news, EVP Phil Mottram sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.54, for a total value 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. The trade was a 41.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary M. Reiner sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.58, for a total transaction of $983,200.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 83,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,061,500.02. The trade was a 32.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 668,590 shares of company stock valued at $15,265,033 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HPE. State of Wyoming increased its stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 37.2% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 6,404 shares of the technology company's stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 1,738 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 129,933 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,774,000 after purchasing an additional 1,709 shares during the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $281,000. USS Investment Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 211.7% in the 4th quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 328,251 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $7,010,000 after purchasing an additional 222,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elequin Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 80.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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