Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) Short Interest Down 9.5% in September

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 6,010,000 shares, a decline of 9.5% from the September 15th total of 6,640,000 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,070,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

EA stock traded down $0.84 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $144.20. 1,095,789 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,064,459. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $145.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Electronic Arts has a twelve month low of $119.92 and a twelve month high of $153.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.79.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The game software company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.06. Electronic Arts had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 15.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Electronic Arts will post 5.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 28th were paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 28th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 7,384 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.91, for a total transaction of $1,106,935.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 31,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,675,692.90. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.32, for a total transaction of $223,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,160,055.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 7,384 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.91, for a total transaction of $1,106,935.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 31,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,675,692.90. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,770 shares of company stock valued at $3,643,785 over the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Electronic Arts

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EA. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Electronic Arts by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 39,723 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $5,434,000 after buying an additional 1,553 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts in the 4th quarter worth about $1,395,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Electronic Arts during the 4th quarter worth about $57,000. Moody National Bank Trust Division lifted its holdings in Electronic Arts by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 5,484 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in Electronic Arts by 21.1% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,352 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $710,000 after buying an additional 934 shares in the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on EA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $154.00 target price on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Electronic Arts from $143.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.94.

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.