NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $153.8889.

NTES has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Nomura reduced their target price on shares of NetEase from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NetEase in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $154.00 target price on shares of NetEase in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of NetEase from $135.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of NetEase in a research report on Thursday, February 12th.

NetEase Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NetEase stock opened at $112.63 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $118.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $133.69. The company has a market cap of $71.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.34, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.76. NetEase has a 12-month low of $88.54 and a 12-month high of $159.55.

NetEase Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. This is a boost from NetEase’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. NetEase’s payout ratio is currently 63.08%.

Institutional Trading of NetEase

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NTES. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NetEase in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new position in NetEase in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in NetEase in the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in NetEase in the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in NetEase in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. 11.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NetEase Company Profile

NetEase, Inc (NASDAQ: NTES) is a Chinese technology company headquartered in Hangzhou that develops and operates Internet services and products. Founded in 1997 by William Ding (Ding Lei), the company has grown from an early web portal and e-mail provider into a diversified online services group. William Ding has served as the company’s founder and long-time leader, guiding its expansion into games, digital content and consumer services.

The company’s primary business is interactive entertainment: NetEase Games designs, develops and publishes PC and mobile games for domestic and international audiences, offering a mix of self-developed franchises and titles published under licensing and strategic partnerships.