Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) Shares Down 4.4% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• HPE shares fell 4.4% to approximately $70.26 in midday trading, while still trading above the 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $65.78; however, the target is below the current share price despite several recent upgrades.
• HPE reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, including $1.11 in EPS and $12.21 billion in revenue, up 33.7% year over year. The company also declared a $0.1425 quarterly dividend, while executives sold shares through pre-arranged trading plans.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE:HPE - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 4.4% on Monday. The stock traded as low as $69.51 and last traded at $70.2590. 19,560,827 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 8% from the average session volume of 21,255,357 shares. The stock had previously closed at $73.46.

Get HPE SMS alerts:

Sign Up

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $57.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $74.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $65.78.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Stock Down 4.4%

The stock's fifty day moving average is $58.25 and its 200 day moving average is $45.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $93.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.39.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 2nd. The technology company reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.18. Hewlett Packard Enterprise had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 15.50%. The business had revenue of $12.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 33.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.200-1.300 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. Research analysts predict that Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 17th will be paid a $0.1425 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 17th. This represents a $0.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Hewlett Packard Enterprise's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Rami Rahim sold 34,456 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.42, for a total transaction of $2,116,287.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 875,133 shares in the company, valued at $53,750,668.86. The trade was a 3.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Antonio Neri sold 250,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.31, for a total value of $17,077,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,182,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $80,769,265.83. This trade represents a 17.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 551,456 shares of company stock valued at $35,271,258 over the last ninety days. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hewlett Packard Enterprise

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Elliott Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 47.2% during the 1st quarter. Elliott Investment Management L.P. now owns 27,421,735 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $652,912,000 after acquiring an additional 8,790,757 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,027,139,000. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the second quarter valued at approximately $773,225,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 6.1% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,088,774 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $590,435,000 after purchasing an additional 756,972 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the second quarter valued at approximately $512,721,000. Institutional investors own 80.78% of the company's stock.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company Profile

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company NYSE: HPE is a global technology company that provides information technology products, services and solutions for businesses, governments and other organizations. Its offerings are designed to help customers build, manage and secure data center, cloud and edge-computing environments.

HPE's portfolio includes enterprise servers, high-performance computing systems, data storage, networking equipment, software and technology consulting services. The company also provides hybrid cloud and as-a-service solutions through HPE GreenLake, allowing customers to access and manage computing, storage, data protection and other IT capabilities through a flexible consumption model.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.