NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,490,000 shares, a drop of 17.5% from the January 31st total of 4,230,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,290,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NetEase

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NTES. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in NetEase by 81.7% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in NetEase during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in NetEase by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 444 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Live Oak Investment Partners bought a new stake in NetEase during the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of NetEase in the 3rd quarter valued at $70,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

NetEase Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ NTES traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $101.85. The company had a trading volume of 2,068,496 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,557,383. The stock has a market cap of $65.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.58. NetEase has a 52 week low of $75.85 and a 52 week high of $111.12. The business’s 50-day moving average is $98.99 and its 200-day moving average is $90.37.

NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The technology company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.16 billion. NetEase had a net margin of 28.17% and a return on equity of 22.12%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that NetEase will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NetEase Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.435 dividend. This represents a $1.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. NetEase’s dividend payout ratio is 76.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on NetEase from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com lowered NetEase from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of NetEase from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of NetEase from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of NetEase from $82.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.57.

NetEase Company Profile

NetEase, Inc engages in online games, music streaming, online intelligent learning services, and internet content services businesses in China and internationally . The company operates through Games and Related Value-Added Services, Youdao, Cloud Music, and Innovative Businesses and Others segments.