Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirty-one analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twenty-six have given a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $181.2083.

Several equities analysts recently commented on EA shares. Baird R W cut Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $210.00 price objective (up previously from $170.00) on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Monday, September 29th. HSBC cut shares of Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $191.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Argus set a $210.00 target price on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Thursday, October 30th.

Insider Activity at Electronic Arts

In other news, Director Jeff Huber sold 79,381 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.17, for a total value of $15,969,075.77. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura Miele sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.06, for a total value of $502,650.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 55,648 shares in the company, valued at $11,188,586.88. This trade represents a 4.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 136,169 shares of company stock valued at $27,378,636 over the last ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Electronic Arts

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 70.1% during the second quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 165 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 138 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Electronic Arts in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Electronic Arts in the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Electronic Arts by 328.9% during the second quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 193 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EA opened at $203.79 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $201.78 and a 200 day moving average of $178.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $50.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.76. Electronic Arts has a 12 month low of $115.21 and a 12 month high of $204.64.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The game software company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.72 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. Electronic Arts had a net margin of 12.14% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Electronic Arts will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 3rd. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Electronic Arts Company Profile

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.