Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) Receives “Buy” Rating from Benchmark

Benchmark restated their buy rating on shares of Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) in a report issued on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $153.00 price objective on the game software company’s stock.

EA has been the subject of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. They set an outperform rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $152.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $146.00 to $143.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $162.00 price target on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $147.00.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

NASDAQ EA opened at $125.63 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $135.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $134.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Electronic Arts has a 12-month low of $117.47 and a 12-month high of $144.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.76.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The game software company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.45 by ($1.38). Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 20.58% and a net margin of 14.09%. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. Electronic Arts’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Electronic Arts will post 5.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Electronic Arts

In other Electronic Arts news, Director Jeff Huber sold 11,872 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.90, for a total value of $1,684,636.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 79,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,264,163.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Jeff Huber sold 11,872 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.90, for a total transaction of $1,684,636.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 79,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,264,163.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.24, for a total transaction of $143,240.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 20,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,901,755.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 37,144 shares of company stock worth $5,143,560. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Electronic Arts

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Electronic Arts in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bray Capital Advisors boosted its position in Electronic Arts by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bray Capital Advisors now owns 220 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 102.0% in the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 200 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 269.1% in the 4th quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 212,585 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 154,989 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

Electronic Arts Company Profile

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.