Electronic Arts’ (EA) Buy Rating Reiterated at Benchmark

Benchmark reissued their buy rating on shares of Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $163.00 price objective on the game software company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on EA. Citigroup cut Electronic Arts from a buy rating to a neutral rating and raised their target price for the company from $148.00 to $161.00 in a research note on Monday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Electronic Arts from $139.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wedbush upped their target price on Electronic Arts from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Electronic Arts from $135.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Electronic Arts from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Electronic Arts currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $161.94.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EA opened at $139.55 on Wednesday. Electronic Arts has a 1-year low of $117.47 and a 1-year high of $153.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.45. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $146.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.08 billion, a PE ratio of 29.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.79.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The game software company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.06. Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 15.77%. The company had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Electronic Arts will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th were paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 28th. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.24%.

Insider Transactions at Electronic Arts

In related news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.71, for a total value of $111,768.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,389,173.54. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.71, for a total value of $111,768.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,389,173.54. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $435,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 7,553 shares in the company, valued at $1,095,185. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,570 shares of company stock valued at $4,183,508 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 16,966.5% during the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 204,457 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $28,487,000 after purchasing an additional 203,259 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the second quarter valued at approximately $749,000. Ariadne Wealth Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the second quarter valued at approximately $506,000. Advisory Alpha LLC increased its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 41.6% during the second quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 3,169 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 931 shares during the period. Finally, Old North State Trust LLC boosted its stake in Electronic Arts by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 1,679 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is owned by 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.