Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) Upgraded by DZ Bank to Buy Rating

DZ Bank upgraded shares of Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $177.00 price target on the game software company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $135.00.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm upped their price target on Electronic Arts from $154.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America raised their price target on Electronic Arts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup downgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $148.00 to $161.00 in a report on Monday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $165.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $163.00 target price on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Wednesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.39.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

NASDAQ EA opened at $150.85 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $39.85 billion, a PE ratio of 38.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.79. Electronic Arts has a 52-week low of $124.92 and a 52-week high of $153.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 1.43. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $144.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $140.02.

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

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be given a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.54%.

Insider Activity at Electronic Arts

In other news, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,260 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.37, for a total value of $186,946.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 7,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,120,638.61. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,260 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.37, for a total transaction of $186,946.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 7,553 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,120,638.61. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 7,384 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.91, for a total transaction of $1,106,935.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 31,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,675,692.90. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 22,644 shares of company stock valued at $3,340,377. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Electronic Arts

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EA. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in Electronic Arts in the first quarter valued at $1,236,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in Electronic Arts by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,430 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $720,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the period. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in Electronic Arts in the first quarter valued at about $121,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Electronic Arts by 3.0% during the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 46,935 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $6,227,000 after buying an additional 1,378 shares during the period. Finally, FORA Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 209.7% during the first quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 45,985 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $6,101,000 after acquiring an additional 31,136 shares during the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Electronic Arts Company Profile

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.