Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 43,760,000 shares, an increase of 46.0% from the February 28th total of 29,980,000 shares. Approximately 3.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 17,600,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Insider Activity at Hewlett Packard Enterprise

In other Hewlett Packard Enterprise news, SVP Jeremy Cox sold 11,577 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.00, for a total value of $266,271.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,615 shares in the company, valued at $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 SEC, which is available through this link. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Tandem Financial LLC bought a new position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Elequin Capital LP acquired a new position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 80.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HPE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Hewlett Packard Enterprise from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $16.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $24.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $26.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $27.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Nine 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.27.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE HPE traded down $0.29 on Monday, hitting $15.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 31,782,749 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,919,194. The firm has a market cap of $20.37 billion, a PE ratio of 8.16, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.20. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a 1-year low of $14.64 and a 1-year high of $24.66. The company’s 50-day moving average is $19.55 and its 200 day moving average is $20.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

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 given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.37%.

About Hewlett Packard Enterprise

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.