Ascendiant Capital Markets Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) Stock

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) had its target price lifted by Ascendiant Capital Markets from $157.00 to $160.00 in a research note released on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a buy rating on the game software company’s stock.

EA has been the topic of a number of other reports. DA Davidson assumed coverage on Electronic Arts in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $173.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com cut Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Electronic Arts from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson raised Electronic Arts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.78.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

Shares of EA opened at $134.05 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $134.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.39. Electronic Arts has a 52 week low of $115.21 and a 52 week high of $168.50. The stock has a market cap of $34.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $740,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 47,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,047,020. This represents a 9.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.03, for a total transaction of $122,030.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 28,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,443,198.48. This trade represents a 3.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 24,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,428,645. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EA. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Electronic Arts during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Electronic Arts in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 141.0% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 200 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Electronic Arts in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Electronic Arts in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 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.