Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Benchmark Analyst Says

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) had its target price raised by Benchmark from $140.00 to $160.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Benchmark currently has a buy rating on the game software company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on EA. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Ascendiant Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $157.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Moffett Nathanson upgraded Electronic Arts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Electronic Arts from $167.00 to $159.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Electronic Arts from $175.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $155.65.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

Shares of EA opened at $144.55 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $132.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $144.61. The company has a market capitalization of $37.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.78. Electronic Arts has a fifty-two week low of $115.21 and a fifty-two week high of $168.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.41 by ($1.07). Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 14.28%. Research analysts predict that Electronic Arts will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Electronic Arts

In other news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.68, for a total transaction of $713,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 42,615 shares in the company, valued at $6,080,308.20. This trade represents a 10.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.18, for a total value of $148,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 8,750 shares in the company, valued at $1,296,575. This represents a 10.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,000 shares of company stock worth $3,166,740 in the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EA. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Electronic Arts in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its stake in Electronic Arts by 141.0% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 200 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Electronic Arts in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. 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.