Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) Sets New 1-Year Low on Analyst Downgrade

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Saturday after StockNews.com downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as low as $14.93 and last traded at $15.82, with a volume of 81923511 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.96.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on HPE. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Raymond James upgraded shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $23.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Loop Capital upped their target price on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $26.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price objective on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hewlett Packard Enterprise presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.21.

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Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Jeremy Cox sold 11,577 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gary M. Reiner sold 50,000 shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.47, for a total value of $1,173,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 104,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,445,386.24. The trade was a 32.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 324,395 shares of company stock valued at $7,121,896. Insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 32,173,982 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $686,011,000 after acquiring an additional 681,242 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 27,383,858 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $560,274,000 after purchasing an additional 4,194,213 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 24.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,184,240 shares of the technology company's stock worth $345,534,000 after purchasing an additional 3,208,424 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 6.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 15,696,449 shares of the technology company's stock worth $321,149,000 after purchasing an additional 921,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the fourth quarter valued at $292,959,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.78% of the company's stock.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $21.47 and a 200-day moving average of $20.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.32, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.20. 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be given 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 yield of 3.29%. Hewlett Packard Enterprise's payout ratio is presently 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.