Hewlett Packard Enterprise Shares Tumble Ahead of Q3 Earnings

By Trey Thoelcke Updated Jan 12, 8:34AM EST · Published Sep 1, 1:15PM EDT

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Hewlett Packard Enterprise Shares Tumble Ahead of Q3 Earnings — © courtesy of Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. (NYSE: HPE) have tumbled ahead of the long holiday weekend. HPE announced that it has completed the spin-off of much of its software business, which will merge with a wholly owned subsidiary of Micro Focus International PLC (NYSE: MFGP), a U.K.-based global enterprise software company.

HPE CEO Meg Whitman said:

With the completion of this transaction, HPE has achieved a major milestone in becoming a stronger, more focused company, purpose-built to compete and win in today’s market. And, this transaction will deliver approximately $8.8 billion to HPE and its stockholders.

As a result of the transaction, HPE will adjust its fiscal year financial outlook when it reports its fiscal 2017 third-quarter results on Tuesday, September 5, 2017.

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So far the consensus view of Wall Street analysts is that HPE will post per-share earnings of $0.26 and $7.49 billion in revenue when it shares its results. In the same period of last year, the Palo Alto, California-based company reported $0.49 in earnings per share, as well as revenue of $12.21 billion.

Barclays boosted its price target on HPE from $17 to $18 on Friday. It has an Underweight rating on the shares. Earlier, Loop Capital initiated coverage on the stock with a Hold rating and a $17 target price, and Jefferies reiterated its Buy rating and has a $22 target, the highest listed.

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Shares were last seen trading at $14.14, after changing hands at more than $18 on Thursday and dropping over 20% to a 52-week low of $13.82 early Friday. The 52-week high is $19.16, and the consensus price target was $19.35 on last look.

Shareholders will have a long weekend to wait and see if HPE can offer up some good news in Tuesday’s report.

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.