NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning.

NetEase Price Performance

Shares of NTES stock opened at $103.47 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $103.68. NetEase has a 1-year low of $80.79 and a 1-year high of $118.89. The company has a market cap of $66.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.35, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.59.

NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The technology company reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.62 by ($0.20). NetEase had a net margin of 28.39% and a return on equity of 24.36%. The firm had revenue of $3.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.96 billion. Analysts anticipate that NetEase will post 7.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NetEase Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This is an increase from NetEase’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.18%. NetEase’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NetEase

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Willner & Heller LLC purchased a new position in shares of NetEase during the 4th quarter worth $331,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of NetEase by 226.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,896,495 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $176,677,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315,410 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of NetEase during the 4th quarter worth $3,566,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of NetEase during the 4th quarter worth $371,000. Finally, FIL Ltd grew its holdings in shares of NetEase by 73.2% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,572,418 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $146,486,000 after purchasing an additional 664,577 shares during the period. 11.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About NetEase

NetEase, Inc engages in online games, music streaming, online intelligent learning services, and internet content services businesses in China and internationally . The company operates through Games and Related Value-Added Services, Youdao, Cloud Music, and Innovative Businesses and Others segments.