Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) Stock Price Down 6.2% - What's Next?

Key Points

• HPE shares fell 6.2% to approximately $55.22 in mid-day trading, with volume below the stock’s average daily level.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.44; several firms recently raised their targets.
• HPE recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, while reporting 33.7% year-over-year revenue growth. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.1425 per share, yielding about 1.0%.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE:HPE - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 6.2% on Friday. The stock traded as low as $53.41 and last traded at $55.2220. Approximately 16,375,252 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 22% from the average daily volume of 21,033,709 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.87.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on HPE shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, August 30th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $76.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $74.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $65.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $65.44.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $73.31 billion, a PE ratio of 28.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.39. The firm's fifty day moving average is $59.66 and its 200 day moving average is $40.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 2nd. The technology company reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.18. Hewlett Packard Enterprise had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 6.60%. The firm had revenue of $12.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.44 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, research analysts predict that Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company will post 3.34 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 given 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 1.0%. Hewlett Packard Enterprise's payout ratio is 29.69%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gary M. Reiner sold 17,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.91, for a total transaction of $967,470.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 65,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,703,247.52. This trade represents a 20.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Antonio Neri sold 250,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.44, for a total value of $15,110,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,432,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $86,573,832.92. This represents a 14.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 585,899 shares of company stock valued at $37,270,329 in the last ninety days. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hewlett Packard Enterprise

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,027,139,000. Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the second quarter worth approximately $773,225,000. Elliott Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 47.2% in the first 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 period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 756,972 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $512,721,000. 80.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Hewlett Packard Enterprise

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

HPE's portfolio includes enterprise servers and compute systems, data storage, networking products, high-performance computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure.

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