Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) Cut to “Equal Weight” at Barclays

Posted by Stanley Muller on Oct 17th, 2026

Barclays cut shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE – Free Report) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $77.00 price target on the technology company’s stock, down from their prior price target of $83.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Zacks Research raised shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 30th. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a report on Friday, September 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hewlett Packard Enterprise currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.44.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Stock Down 5.6%

NYSE:HPE opened at $55.32 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $59.34 and a 200-day moving average of $46.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.44 billion, a PE ratio of 28.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.39. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a 52 week low of $19.84 and a 52 week high of $73.56.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 2nd. The technology company reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.18. Hewlett Packard Enterprise had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 6.60%. The business had revenue of $12.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 33.7% on a year-over-year basis. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.200-1.300 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. Analysts predict that Hewlett Packard Enterprise will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 17th were paid a $0.1425 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 17th. This represents a $0.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.69%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Rami Rahim sold 34,456 shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.42, for a total transaction of $2,116,287.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 875,133 shares in the company, valued at $53,750,668.86. The trade was a 3.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Antonio Neri sold 250,000 shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.44, for a total transaction of $15,110,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,432,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $86,573,832.92. This represents a 14.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 551,456 shares of company stock valued at $35,271,258. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the third quarter worth approximately $1,130,000. Kintegral Advisory LLC lifted its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 0.6% in the third quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC now owns 108,208 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,929,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the period. Avail Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 2.7% in the third quarter. Avail Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,204 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $716,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the 3rd quarter valued at $234,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the 3rd quarter valued at $224,000. 80.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Here are the key news stories impacting Hewlett Packard Enterprise this week:

Positive Sentiment: HPE announced a planned $75 million expansion in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, expected to create 75 jobs. The investment supports the company’s manufacturing and infrastructure operations, although its near-term effect on earnings is likely limited. HPE to spend $75M to expand, add 75 jobs in Chippewa Falls
Positive Sentiment: Some investors remain constructive because HPE has reported record revenue, orders and backlog, while demand for traditional servers, AI systems and networking—and higher server prices—has supported recent results. HPE stock was also reported to be up substantially for the year before the latest retreat. What Was HPE Telling You Before Its Stock Ran?
Neutral Sentiment: ETF selling added to short-term pressure, while some dip buyers are betting that HPE can convert its AI and server orders into revenue. However, the recent decline has raised questions about whether earlier dip-buying strategies will continue to work. ETFs Are Net Sellers of Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Negative Sentiment: Barclays downgraded HPE to Equal Weight from Overweight and lowered its price target to $77 from $83. The firm questioned how quickly corporate customers will adopt AI hardware and suggested that memory-component inflation, rather than new AI deployments, may be driving server revenue growth. Why Hewlett Packard Enterprise Stock Is Trading Lower Today
Negative Sentiment: Concerns over how customers will finance large AI infrastructure projects have spread across hardware stocks, including HPE, Dell and Super Micro. The resulting sector-wide selling, combined with scrutiny of HPE’s server revenue quality and adoption timeline, drove a roughly 20% decline between October 9 and October 15. AI Financing Worries Extend Hardware Selloff

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE:HPE) is a global technology company that provides information technology products, services and solutions for businesses, governments and other organizations. Its offerings are designed to help customers build, manage and secure data center, cloud and edge-computing environments.

HPE’s portfolio includes enterprise servers, high-performance computing systems, data storage, networking equipment, software and technology consulting services. The company also provides hybrid cloud and as-a-service solutions through HPE GreenLake, allowing customers to access and manage computing, storage, data protection and other IT capabilities through a flexible consumption model.