Short Interest in Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) Declines By 33.1%

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) saw a large decrease in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 4,840,000 shares, a decrease of 33.1% from the September 30th total of 7,240,000 shares. Currently, 2.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 3,720,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days. Based on an average trading volume of 3,720,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days. Currently, 2.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EA. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Electronic Arts from $166.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Arete upgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $192.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Electronic Arts from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Electronic Arts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Arete Research set a $192.00 price target on Electronic Arts in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $181.64.

Electronic Arts Stock Performance

Shares of EA traded up $0.52 on Tuesday, reaching $200.41. 679,869 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,533,093. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $50.14 billion, a PE ratio of 58.60, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.77. Electronic Arts has a 52-week low of $115.21 and a 52-week high of $203.75. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $186.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $165.53.

Electronic Arts Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 3rd. Electronic Arts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Insider Activity at Electronic Arts

In other news, CFO Stuart Canfield sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.40, for a total transaction of $1,322,100.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 5,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,045,476. This trade represents a 55.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Vijayanthimala Singh sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.31, for a total value of $240,372.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 32,331 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,476,222.61. This represents a 3.58% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 39,400 shares of company stock valued at $7,359,462. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Electronic Arts

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in Electronic Arts by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,299 shares of the game software company’s stock valued at $832,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the period. Convergence Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Electronic Arts by 92.3% in the 3rd quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 8,883 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $1,792,000 after purchasing an additional 4,263 shares during the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Electronic Arts in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Electronic Arts by 35.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 390,971 shares of the game software company’s stock worth $78,859,000 after buying an additional 102,248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Electronic Arts in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $221,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.23% of the company’s stock.

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.