Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE:HPE - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $18.41, but opened at $20.69. Hewlett Packard Enterprise shares last traded at $20.70, with a volume of 10,949,271 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on HPE shares. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Hewlett Packard Enterprise from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $16.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $26.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Daiwa America cut shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $21.31.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Stock Performance

The business's fifty day moving average is $17.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.42 billion, a PE ratio of 21.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 3rd. The technology company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $7.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. Hewlett Packard Enterprise's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hewlett Packard Enterprise news, Director Bethany Mayer sold 6,409 shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.19, for a total transaction of $84,534.71. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Phil Mottram sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.50, for a total transaction of $555,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 72,427 shares in the company, valued at $1,339,899.50. This trade represents a 29.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hewlett Packard Enterprise

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HPE. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs bought a new position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the first quarter valued at approximately $963,000. Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 86.5% during the 1st quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 58,902 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $909,000 after acquiring an additional 27,327 shares during the period. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the 1st quarter valued at $15,663,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 44.7% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,456 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 1.2% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 1,211,774 shares of the technology company's stock worth $18,698,000 after purchasing an additional 14,368 shares during the period. 80.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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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