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

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 29,980,000 shares, a decrease of 19.8% from the February 13th total of 37,380,000 shares. Approximately 2.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 16,520,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of HPE stock traded up $0.43 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $16.36. 21,468,551 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,952,462. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a 52-week low of $14.64 and a 52-week high of $24.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $20.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.37%.

Insider Transactions at Hewlett Packard Enterprise

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hewlett Packard Enterprise

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the third quarter worth $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Tandem Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on HPE. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $27.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $26.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.27.

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.