Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) Shares Up 5% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• HPE shares rose 5% on Wednesday, reaching $51.78; trading volume was 29% below the average daily volume.
• In its latest reported quarter, HPE beat estimates with EPS of $1.11 versus $0.93 expected and revenue of $12.21 billion versus $11.97 billion expected. Revenue increased 33.7% year over year.
• Analyst views were mixed, but the consensus rating was Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $65.44.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE:HPE - Get Free Report) rose 5% during trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $51.78 and last traded at $50.3310. 14,764,652 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 29% from the average daily volume of 20,900,043 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on HPE shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 30th. Barclays downgraded Hewlett Packard Enterprise from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $83.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.44.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Price Performance

The business's 50-day moving average price is $59.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.65. The company has a market capitalization of $66.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 2nd. The technology company reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $12.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.44 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 33.7% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Analysts anticipate that Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company will post 3.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 17th were paid a dividend of $0.1425 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 17th. This represents a $0.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Hewlett Packard Enterprise's payout ratio is 29.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hewlett Packard Enterprise

In other Hewlett Packard Enterprise news, CEO Antonio Neri sold 250,000 shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.44, for a total transaction of $15,110,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,432,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $86,573,832.92. This trade represents a 14.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Rami Rahim sold 34,456 shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 875,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,750,668.86. The trade was a 3.79% 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 585,899 shares of company stock worth $37,270,329 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HPE. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the 2nd quarter worth $1,027,139,000. Primecap Management Co. CA bought a new stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the 2nd quarter valued at $773,225,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the second quarter valued at $512,721,000. Elliott Investment Management L.P. lifted its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 47.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the second quarter worth approximately $322,718,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.78% of the company's stock.

About Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) is a global information technology company that provides products and services for businesses, governments and other organizations. Its offerings span servers and computing systems, data storage, networking, hybrid cloud, artificial intelligence and edge computing. HPE sells systems such as HPE ProLiant servers and HPE Alletra storage, along with networking products through HPE Aruba Networking. Its HPE GreenLake platform provides cloud and IT services through a flexible, consumption-based model.

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