UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) Stock

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) had its target price boosted by UBS Group from $16.00 to $18.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the technology company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on HPE. Evercore ISI raised Hewlett Packard Enterprise from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $17.00 to $22.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $26.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $24.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Daiwa America cut shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.50.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Stock Performance

HPE opened at $18.12 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $16.18 and its 200 day moving average is $19.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $23.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.54, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.29. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a 12-month low of $11.97 and a 12-month high of $24.66.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 3rd. The technology company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.05. Hewlett Packard Enterprise had a net margin of 8.56% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The business had revenue of $7.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hewlett Packard Enterprise will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s payout ratio is 25.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hewlett Packard Enterprise

In other news, Director Bethany Mayer sold 6,409 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.19, for a total transaction of $84,534.71. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 1.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 167,199,996 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,579,896,000 after purchasing an additional 2,779,446 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 32,173,982 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $686,011,000 after buying an additional 681,242 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 17,584,742 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $271,333,000 after acquiring an additional 2,373,850 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 3.4% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,730,015 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $258,144,000 after acquiring an additional 545,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 1,369.1% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 16,279,442 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $251,192,000 after acquiring an additional 15,171,314 shares during the last quarter. 80.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.