Wells Fargo Maintains Electronic Arts (EA) Equal-Weight Recommendation

Fintel reports that on April 21, 2023, Wells Fargo maintained coverage of Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) with a Equal-Weight recommendation.

Analyst Price Forecast Suggests 4.41% Upside

As of April 6, 2023, the average one-year price target for Electronic Arts is $134.48. The forecasts range from a low of $108.07 to a high of $159.60. The average price target represents an increase of 4.41% from its latest reported closing price of $128.80.

See our leaderboard of companies with the largest price target upside.

The projected annual revenue for Electronic Arts is $8,505MM, an increase of 15.29%. The projected annual non-GAAP EPS is $8.09.

• For more in-depth coverage of Electronic Arts, view the free, crowd-sourced company research report on Finpedia.

Electronic Arts Declares $0.19 Dividend

On January 31, 2023 the company declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share ($0.76 annualized). Shareholders of record as of March 1, 2023 received the payment on March 22, 2023. Previously, the company paid $0.19 per share.

At the current share price of $128.80 / share, the stock’s dividend yield is 0.59%. Looking back five years and taking a sample every week, the average dividend yield has been 0.63%, the lowest has been 0.46%, and the highest has been 1.02%. The standard deviation of yields is 0.13 (n=237).

The current dividend yield is 0.33 standard deviations below the historical average.

Additionally, the company’s dividend payout ratio is 0.20. The payout ratio tells us how much of a company’s income is paid out in dividends. A payout ratio of one (1.0) means 100% of the company’s income is paid in a dividend. A payout ratio greater than one means the company is dipping into savings in order to maintain its dividend – not a healthy situation. Companies with few growth prospects are expected to pay out most of their income in dividends, which typically means a payout ratio between 0.5 and 1.0. Companies with good growth prospects are expected to retain some earnings in order to invest in those growth prospects, which translates to a payout ratio of zero to 0.5.

The company has not increased its dividend in the last three years.

What are Other Shareholders Doing?

FEX – First Trust Large Cap Core AlphaDEX Fund holds 8K shares representing 0.00% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 8K shares, representing an increase of 7.96%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in EA by 0.13% over the last quarter.

Securian Funds Trust – SFT Index 500 Fund Class 1 holds 8K shares representing 0.00% ownership of the company. No change in the last quarter.

MAINSTAY VP FUNDS TRUST – MainStay VP T. Rowe Price Equity Income Portfolio Initial Class holds 16K shares representing 0.01% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 16K shares, representing a decrease of 4.86%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in EA by 4.05% over the last quarter.

MMBDX – MassMutual Premier Balanced Fund holds 2K shares representing 0.00% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 2K shares, representing an increase of 25.87%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in EA by 36.42% over the last quarter.

Nekton Capital holds 222K shares representing 0.08% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 248K shares, representing a decrease of 11.90%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in EA by 21.86% over the last quarter.

What is the Fund Sentiment?

There are 1984 funds or institutions reporting positions in Electronic Arts. This is an increase of 33 owner(s) or 1.69% in the last quarter. Average portfolio weight of all funds dedicated to EA is 0.36%, a decrease of 0.33%. Total shares owned by institutions increased in the last three months by 0.46% to 290,456K shares. The put/call ratio of EA is 1.10, indicating a bearish outlook.

Electronic Arts Background Information
(This description is provided by the company.)

Electronic Arts is a global leader in digital interactive entertainment. The Company develops and delivers games, content and online services for Internet-connected consoles, mobile devices and personal computers. In fiscal year 2020, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $5.5 billion. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, EA is recognized for a portfolio of critically acclaimed, high-quality brands such as EA SPORTS™ FIFA, Battlefield™, Apex Legends™, The Sims™, Madden NFL, Need for Speed™, Titanfall™ and Plants vs. Zombies™.

See all Electronic Arts regulatory filings.

This story originally appeared on Fintel.

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