StockNews.com Downgrades NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) to Buy

StockNews.com lowered shares of NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Monday.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on NTES. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on NetEase from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 12th. HSBC dropped their target price on NetEase from $130.00 to $126.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of $126.00.

NetEase Stock Performance

Shares of NTES stock opened at $94.02 on Monday. NetEase has a 52 week low of $80.79 and a 52 week high of $118.89. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $101.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $102.69. The company has a market capitalization of $60.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.58.

NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The technology company reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.62 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $3.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.96 billion. NetEase had a return on equity of 24.36% and a net margin of 28.39%. Analysts forecast that NetEase will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current year.

NetEase Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This is a positive change from NetEase’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.59%. NetEase’s payout ratio is 68.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NetEase

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NTES. Financial Counselors Inc. raised its position in NetEase by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 3,195 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of NetEase by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 1,508 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in NetEase by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in NetEase by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,588 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its position in NetEase by 31.4% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 678 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

NetEase Company Profile

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.