Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) Short Interest Update

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) was the target of a large growth in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,160,000 shares, a growth of 10.3% from the October 31st total of 6,490,000 shares. Currently, 3.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,860,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on EA shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Electronic Arts from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. BNP Paribas raised Electronic Arts to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price target (up previously from $154.00) on shares of Electronic Arts in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on Electronic Arts from $161.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Electronic Arts has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $165.37.

Insider Activity at Electronic Arts

In related news, EVP Jacob J. Schatz sold 1,500 shares of Electronic Arts stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.58, for a total value of $219,870.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,863,848.80. The trade was a 5.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.70, for a total value of $151,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,579,823. This represents a 3.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 20,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,073,520. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Electronic Arts

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Electronic Arts in the 2nd quarter worth about $188,159,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its stake in Electronic Arts by 43.3% in the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,390,418 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $193,727,000 after acquiring an additional 420,382 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 214.8% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 533,548 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $73,264,000 after acquiring an additional 364,044 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Electronic Arts by 29.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,548,261 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $215,725,000 after acquiring an additional 354,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc boosted its holdings in shares of Electronic Arts by 59.2% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 858,840 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $123,484,000 after purchasing an additional 319,335 shares during the period. 90.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Electronic Arts Trading Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ:EA traded up $2.29 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $165.96. 1,833,538 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,046,092. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $151.54 and its 200-day moving average is $145.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.78. Electronic Arts has a 12-month low of $124.92 and a 12-month high of $168.50.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.54%.

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.