Hewlett Packard Enterprise Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:HPE)

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 32,344 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 50% compared to the typical volume of 21,583 call options.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Trading Up 4.5 %

NYSE:HPE traded up $0.64 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $14.92. 32,161,490 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,591,145. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.85, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.20. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a 12 month low of $11.97 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. The company has a fifty day moving average of $17.39 and a 200 day moving average of $20.04.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 18th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s payout ratio is presently 25.37%.

Insider Activity at Hewlett Packard Enterprise

In related news, Director Bethany Mayer sold 6,409 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.19, for a total transaction of $84,534.71. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 7,557 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $161,000 after buying an additional 440 shares during the period. Lakewood Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 104,990 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,242,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 13,396 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 62,523 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,335,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the period. Finally, Aviso Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 54,060 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,154,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on HPE shares. Daiwa America cut shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America dropped 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 report on Friday, March 7th. Daiwa Capital Markets downgraded Hewlett Packard Enterprise from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $16.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.60.

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.