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

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 29,980,000 shares, a decline of 19.8% from the February 13th total of 37,380,000 shares. Currently, 2.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 16,520,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Jeremy Cox sold 11,577 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,118,145. The trade was a 19.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hewlett Packard Enterprise

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HPE. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Tandem Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 80.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HPE traded up $0.11 on Tuesday, hitting $15.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 24,397,642 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,915,247. The company has a market capitalization of $20.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $20.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.58. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a 12 month low of $14.64 and a 12 month high of $24.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 18th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HPE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $22.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $24.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Daiwa America cut Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $27.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.