NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 2,094,880 shares, a decline of 15.7% from the February 26th total of 2,483,751 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,149,198 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NetEase

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of NetEase by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,297 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $919,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of NetEase during the first quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of NetEase by 19.7% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,020 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,752,000 after buying an additional 2,147 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in NetEase during the second quarter worth $335,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in NetEase by 23.4% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 144,007 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $19,381,000 after buying an additional 27,318 shares in the last quarter. 11.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NTES. Nomura reduced their price objective on shares of NetEase from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $154.00 target price on shares of NetEase in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of NetEase in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of NetEase in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NetEase in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NetEase currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $153.89.

NetEase Price Performance

NTES opened at $109.26 on Monday. NetEase has a twelve month low of $88.54 and a twelve month high of $159.55. The company has a fifty day moving average of $120.84 and a 200-day moving average of $135.48. The stock has a market cap of $69.23 billion, a PE ratio of 14.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.74.

NetEase Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This is a positive change from NetEase’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. NetEase’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.08%.

About NetEase

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.