UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) Stock

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) had its target price hoisted by UBS Group from $155.00 to $160.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the game software company’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Electronic Arts to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.39.

Electronic Arts Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ EA opened at $151.26 on Wednesday. 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’s 50-day moving average is $144.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $140.19. Electronic Arts has a 12-month low of $124.92 and a 12-month high of $153.51. The company has a market capitalization of $39.96 billion, a PE ratio of 38.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Electronic Arts

In related news, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,260 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.37, for a total transaction of $186,946.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 7,553 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,120,638.61. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,260 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.37, for a total transaction of $186,946.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 7,553 shares in the company, valued at $1,120,638.61. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.70, for a total transaction of $151,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,579,823. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,644 shares of company stock valued at $3,491,207 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Electronic Arts

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its holdings in Electronic Arts by 2.9% in the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 2,828 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in Electronic Arts by 1.6% in the third quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 5,690 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $816,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in Electronic Arts by 23.5% during the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 494 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,302 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $904,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,194 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.