Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 20,760,000 shares, a decrease of 14.9% from the August 15th total of 24,400,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 16,120,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days. Currently, 1.6% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $14.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hewlett Packard Enterprise has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.83.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Stock Performance

HPE traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $17.23. 12,598,093 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,861,986. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.38 billion, a PE ratio of 12.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s 50-day moving average is $18.98 and its 200 day moving average is $18.57. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a 52 week low of $14.47 and a 52 week high of $22.82.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The technology company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $7.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.67 billion. Hewlett Packard Enterprise had a net margin of 6.39% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Hewlett Packard Enterprise will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 19th. Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.96%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 571.5% in the 2nd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 1,343 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,143 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 253.9% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,465 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 224.5% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,853 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,282 shares during the period. Finally, American National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 89.4% in the 1st quarter. American National Bank now owns 1,949 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 920 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.78% of the company’s stock.

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.