Hewlett Packard Enterprise Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:HPE)

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors purchased 18,451 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 19% compared to the typical volume of 15,510 call options.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Stock Performance

Shares of HPE stock traded up $0.48 on Wednesday, reaching $20.35. The stock had a trading volume of 15,556,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,521,370. The stock has a market cap of $26.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.19. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a 1 year low of $14.47 and a 1 year high of $22.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.11.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The technology company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.03. Hewlett Packard Enterprise had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 6.39%. The company had revenue of $7.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.67 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS. Hewlett Packard Enterprise's revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Hewlett Packard Enterprise will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 19th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 19th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.56%. Hewlett Packard Enterprise's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.96%.

Insider Transactions at Hewlett Packard Enterprise

In other news, EVP Neil B. Macdonald sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.00, for a total value of $493,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 82,061 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,395,037. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Antonio F. Neri sold 83,334 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 1,758,641 shares in the company, valued at $34,680,400.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Neil B. Macdonald sold 29,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.00, for a total value of $493,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 82,061 shares in the company, valued at $1,395,037. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 426,012 shares of company stock valued at $8,599,617. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hewlett Packard Enterprise

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Maia Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the third quarter valued at about $123,000. Radnor Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 0.9% during the third quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 145,838 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,984,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Long Run Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 4.7% during the third quarter. Long Run Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 67,201 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,375,000 after acquiring an additional 3,011 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the third quarter valued at about $127,000. Finally, Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 18.3% during the third quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC now owns 208,230 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,260,000 after acquiring an additional 32,233 shares during the period. 80.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on HPE shares. Barclays upgraded Hewlett Packard Enterprise from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $20.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America upgraded Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $21.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Susquehanna reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Loop Capital increased their target price on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $21.46.

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.