Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Thursday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on EA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $163.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Wednesday. Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $154.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 target price (up from $154.00) on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Electronic Arts to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Electronic Arts presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.39.

Electronic Arts Trading Down 1.0 %

EA traded down $1.56 during trading on Thursday, hitting $149.29. 106,934 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,050,551. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.79. Electronic Arts has a 12-month low of $124.92 and a 12-month high of $153.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $144.89 and a 200 day moving average of $140.02.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The game software company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.06. Electronic Arts had a net margin of 14.12% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The business had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Electronic Arts will post 5.93 EPS for the current year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio is 19.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.88, for a total value of $372,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 56,747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,448,493.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.24, for a total transaction of $143,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,181,175.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.88, for a total transaction of $372,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 56,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,448,493.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,644 shares of company stock worth $3,340,377 in the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Electronic Arts during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in Electronic Arts in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Electronic Arts in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Gradient Investments LLC grew its holdings in Electronic Arts by 592.1% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 263 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc develops, markets, publishes, and distributes games, content, and services for game consoles, PCs, mobile phones, and tablets worldwide. It develops and publishes games and services across various genres, such as sports, racing, first-person shooter, action, role-playing, and simulation primarily under the Battlefield, The Sims, Apex Legends, Need for Speed, and license games from others, including FIFA, Madden NFL, UFC, and Star Wars brands.