Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $204.85 and last traded at $204.7850, with a volume of 515550 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $204.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on EA shares. Roth Capital lowered shares of Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Baird R W lowered shares of Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. DZ Bank cut shares of Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Cowen cut Electronic Arts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Argus set a $210.00 price objective on Electronic Arts in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Electronic Arts currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $181.21.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $202.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.76.

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

Electronic Arts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 3rd. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Electronic Arts

In related news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,200 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.11, for a total value of $244,932.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 33,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,849,931.60. This trade represents a 3.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.65, for a total transaction of $302,475.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 5,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,128,231.75. This represents a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 122,469 shares of company stock valued at $24,650,681 over the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Electronic Arts

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake in Electronic Arts by 70.1% in the 2nd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 165 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 100.0% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 138 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the second quarter worth $30,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Electronic Arts during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Electronic Arts by 328.9% in the second quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 193 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ: EA) is a global interactive entertainment company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in 1982 by Trip Hawkins, EA develops, publishes and distributes video games and related content for a variety of platforms, including consoles, personal computers and mobile devices. The company combines in-house development, partnerships and studio acquisitions to create and maintain a portfolio of entertainment properties and live-service experiences for players worldwide.

EA’s product lineup spans several well-known franchises and genres.