Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) Short Interest Update

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

Electronic Arts Price Performance

Shares of Electronic Arts stock traded down $0.84 on Thursday, hitting $144.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,095,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,064,459. The company 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. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $145.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $138.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 1.45. Electronic Arts has a 1 year low of $119.92 and a 1 year high of $153.51.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The game software company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. Electronic Arts had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 16.34%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Electronic Arts will post 5.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Electronic Arts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $154.00 price target on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Wednesday. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $163.00 price objective on shares of Electronic Arts in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $165.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.42, for a total value of $356,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 59,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,437,957.74. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Electronic Arts news, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.72, for a total value of $217,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,860 shares in the company, valued at $3,597,739.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.42, for a total transaction of $356,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 59,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,437,957.74. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,770 shares of company stock valued at $3,643,785 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Electronic Arts

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EA. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its position in Electronic Arts by 2.9% during the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 2,828 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 23.5% during the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 494 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,302 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $904,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 4.6% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,194 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC increased its position in Electronic Arts by 5.6% during the first quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 1,881 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.