Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) Short Interest Up 5.8% in October

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) was the target of a large increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,360,000 shares, an increase of 5.8% from the September 30th total of 6,010,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,870,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days. Approximately 2.7% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.50, for a total value of $353,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 54,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,675,950.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,500 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,860 shares in the company, valued at $4,160,055.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.50, for a total transaction of $353,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 54,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,675,950.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 22,644 shares of company stock worth $3,340,377. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Electronic Arts

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Electronic Arts in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Electronic Arts in the second quarter valued at $33,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Electronic Arts in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Electronic Arts in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 592.1% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 263 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. 90.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

Electronic Arts stock opened at $150.85 on Friday. Electronic Arts has a 1 year low of $121.63 and a 1 year high of $153.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $144.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.02. The company has a market cap of $39.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.78, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.79. 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 (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 net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 16.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Electronic Arts will post 5.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $177.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Electronic Arts to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.39.

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.