Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) Hits New 52-Week High – What’s Next?
by Danessa Lincoln · The Markets DailyElectronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA – Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $204.84 and last traded at $204.7550, with a volume of 413361 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $204.27.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on EA shares. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $210.00 price objective (up previously from $170.00) on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Argus set a $210.00 price objective on Electronic Arts in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. DZ Bank lowered shares of Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $210.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Electronic Arts has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $181.21.
Get Our Latest Report on Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Stock Performance
The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50 day moving average is $202.03 and its 200-day moving average is $179.63.
Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The game software company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.72 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. Electronic Arts had a net margin of 12.14% and a return on equity of 15.30%. Electronic Arts’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.
Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 3rd. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.22%.
Insider Transactions at Electronic Arts
In related news, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.40, for a total value of $1,322,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 5,140 shares in the company, valued at $1,045,476. This trade represents a 55.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.06, for a total transaction of $502,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 55,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,188,586.88. The trade was a 4.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 132,669 shares of company stock valued at $26,721,336 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Electronic Arts
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Electronic Arts by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,108 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $425,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 1.2% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,783 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $965,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Electronic Arts by 5.9% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,053 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Electronic Arts by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,941 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake in Electronic Arts by 70.1% during the 2nd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 165 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.23% of the company’s stock.
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ: EA) is a global interactive entertainment company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in 1982 by Trip Hawkins, EA develops, publishes and distributes video games and related content for a variety of platforms, including consoles, personal computers and mobile devices. The company combines in-house development, partnerships and studio acquisitions to create and maintain a portfolio of entertainment properties and live-service experiences for players worldwide.
EA’s product lineup spans several well-known franchises and genres.