NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on NTES. HSBC reduced their price objective on shares of NetEase from $130.00 to $126.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of NetEase from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $126.00.

NetEase Stock Up 0.7 %

NetEase stock opened at $96.63 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $62.30 billion, a PE ratio of 15.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.58. NetEase has a 52-week low of $80.79 and a 52-week high of $118.89. The company’s 50 day moving average is $102.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $102.83.

NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The technology company reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by ($0.20). NetEase had a return on equity of 24.36% and a net margin of 28.39%. The business had revenue of $3.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.96 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that NetEase will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NetEase Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.47%. This is a boost from NetEase’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. NetEase’s payout ratio is presently 68.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NetEase

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTES. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NetEase during the third quarter worth about $216,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NetEase by 13.2% during the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 6,467 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $648,000 after buying an additional 752 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of NetEase during the third quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of NetEase by 86.8% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 16,918 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,695,000 after buying an additional 7,860 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of NetEase by 202.4% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 50,210 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,962,000 after buying an additional 33,607 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

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.