Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) saw a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,310,000 shares, a growth of 74.5% from the January 31st total of 6,480,000 shares. Currently, 4.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 3,330,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Electronic Arts Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EA traded down $1.34 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $129.12. 6,204,144 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,400,345. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $135.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $145.72. The company has a market cap of $33.65 billion, a PE ratio of 32.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. Electronic Arts has a 1-year low of $115.21 and a 1-year high of $168.50.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The game software company reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by ($1.07). Electronic Arts had a net margin of 14.28% and a return on equity of 17.80%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Electronic Arts will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. Electronic Arts’s payout ratio is 19.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EA. Citigroup cut their price objective on Electronic Arts from $163.00 to $139.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Moffett Nathanson raised Electronic Arts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James downgraded shares of Electronic Arts from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $173.00 target price on shares of Electronic Arts in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Electronic Arts from $167.00 to $159.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.55.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Andrew Wilson sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $740,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,047,020. This trade represents a 9.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.45, for a total transaction of $164,450.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,216 shares in the company, valued at $4,969,021.20. This trade represents a 3.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,500 shares of company stock worth $3,593,095 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Electronic Arts

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EA. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Electronic Arts by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 290 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 2,285 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 5.1% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,572 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA increased its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 2,475 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Electronic Arts by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 812 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 81 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.