Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $203.91 and last traded at $203.7650, with a volume of 296536 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $203.44.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EA. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Cowen lowered shares of Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Argus set a $210.00 price target on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Baird R W lowered Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Electronic Arts from $166.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $181.64.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.55, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $200.89 and its 200-day moving average is $173.74.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The game software company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 12.14%.Electronic Arts’s quarterly revenue was down 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Electronic Arts Inc. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be given a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Electronic Arts

In related news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.42, for a total value of $241,704.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 34,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,001,359.20. This trade represents a 3.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.65, for a total transaction of $302,475.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 5,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,128,231.75. This represents a 21.14% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 134,869 shares of company stock worth $26,878,477 in the last quarter. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Electronic Arts

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pentwater Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Electronic Arts in the 3rd quarter valued at $968,160,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Electronic Arts by 197.5% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,916,693 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $421,524,000 after buying an additional 1,936,313 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in Electronic Arts during the first quarter worth about $225,102,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Electronic Arts during the first quarter valued at about $203,537,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Electronic Arts by 62.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,253,505 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $470,197,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254,194 shares in the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.