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

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors bought 32,649 put options on the company. This is an increase of 57% compared to the typical daily volume of 20,742 put options.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Trading Down 6.6 %

Shares of HPE stock opened at $12.78 on Friday. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a 12 month low of $11.97 and a 12 month high of $24.66. The company has a market cap of $16.78 billion, a PE ratio of 6.72, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The business’s 50 day moving average is $18.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.34.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued 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 4.07%. Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.37%.

Insider Activity at Hewlett Packard Enterprise

In other news, SVP Jeremy Cox sold 11,577 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.00, for a total value of $266,271.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,118,145. The trade was a 19.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hewlett Packard Enterprise

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 53.9% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 7,862 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $121,000 after acquiring an additional 2,754 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 18.3% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 5,686 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 881 shares in the last quarter. 111 Capital bought a new stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the 4th quarter worth about $240,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 44.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 203,283 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,340,000 after buying an additional 62,480 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ bought a new stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,247,000. Institutional investors own 80.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $27.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $26.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets cut Hewlett Packard Enterprise from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $16.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hewlett Packard Enterprise presently has a consensus 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.