Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) Short Interest Up 46.0% in March

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) saw a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 43,760,000 shares, a growth of 46.0% from the February 28th total of 29,980,000 shares. Approximately 3.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 17,600,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HPE has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $27.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $22.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Jeremy Cox sold 11,577 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.00, for a total transaction of $266,271.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,118,145. This trade represents a 19.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HPE. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the fourth quarter worth $292,959,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the fourth quarter worth about $119,067,000. Slate Path Capital LP grew its stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. Slate Path Capital LP now owns 12,689,164 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $270,914,000 after acquiring an additional 3,924,039 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 24.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,184,240 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $345,534,000 after acquiring an additional 3,208,424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 1,382.5% in the 4th quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 3,299,615 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $70,447,000 after acquiring an additional 3,077,046 shares in the last quarter. 80.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Price Performance

Shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $15.51. The company had a trading volume of 31,782,749 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,919,194. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.46. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a 1-year low of $14.64 and a 1-year high of $24.66. The company has a market capitalization of $20.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.20.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s payout ratio is currently 25.37%.

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.