Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $23.79.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HPE. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $23.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays increased their price target on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Citigroup raised Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th.

Insider Transactions at Hewlett Packard Enterprise

In other Hewlett Packard Enterprise news, EVP John F. Schultz sold 262,818 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.62, for a total transaction of $5,682,125.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 270,430 shares in the company, valued at $5,846,696.60. This trade represents a 49.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Antonio F. Neri sold 83,334 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.72, for a total value of $1,643,346.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,758,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,680,400.52. This trade represents a 4.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 717,601 shares of company stock worth $15,140,976. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hewlett Packard Enterprise

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HPE. Capital Investment Counsel Inc boosted its position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 41,269 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $874,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 10,933 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 111,617 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,363,000 after buying an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,665 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bailard Inc. boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. 80.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock opened at $21.57 on Wednesday. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a 52-week low of $14.47 and a 52-week high of $24.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.29. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.10. The firm has a market cap of $28.01 billion, a PE ratio of 11.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.21.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s payout ratio is 27.37%.

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.