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

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

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Price Performance

Shares of HPE stock traded up $0.08 on Monday, reaching $17.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 12,598,093 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,861,986. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.57. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a 1 year low of $14.47 and a 1 year high of $22.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $22.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.19.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The technology company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $7.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.67 billion. Hewlett Packard Enterprise had a net margin of 6.39% and a return on equity of 8.94%. Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Hewlett Packard Enterprise will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Investment Counsel Inc lifted its position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 1.2% during the second quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 41,269 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $874,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 4.8% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 0.5% in the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 111,617 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,363,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 1.7% in the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 35,349 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $748,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 0.5% in the second quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 119,347 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,527,000 after acquiring an additional 598 shares in the last quarter. 80.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on HPE shares. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Loop Capital raised 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 note on Monday, September 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $14.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Susquehanna reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a report on Friday, September 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.83.

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.