NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $114.57.

A number of research firms have recently commented on NTES. Citigroup raised their target price on NetEase from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of NetEase from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of NetEase from $82.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of NetEase from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Benchmark raised their target price on shares of NetEase from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st.

NetEase Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NetEase stock opened at $102.78 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $99.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $90.51. NetEase has a 12-month low of $75.85 and a 12-month high of $111.12. The company has a market cap of $66.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.14, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.61.

NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.16 billion. NetEase had a net margin of 28.17% and a return on equity of 22.12%. Analysts predict that NetEase will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NetEase Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.435 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $1.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. NetEase’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.45%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NetEase

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of NetEase by 13,747.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,258,442 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $585,227,000 after buying an additional 6,213,248 shares during the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. grew its stake in shares of NetEase by 86.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 2,588,943 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $242,092,000 after purchasing an additional 1,203,129 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of NetEase by 88.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,365,464 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $211,023,000 after purchasing an additional 1,107,363 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of NetEase by 40.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,725,046 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $332,311,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074,818 shares during the period. Finally, FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of NetEase by 160.2% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,668,359 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $148,834,000 after buying an additional 1,027,102 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

About NetEase

NetEase, Inc engages in online games, music streaming, online intelligent learning services, and internet content services businesses in China and internationally . The company operates through Games and Related Value-Added Services, Youdao, Cloud Music, and Innovative Businesses and Others segments.