eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the seventeen research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $49.21.

Several equities research analysts have commented on EBAY shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded eBay from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays upped their price target on eBay from $55.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on eBay from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on eBay in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on eBay from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th.

eBay Stock Performance

NASDAQ EBAY opened at $49.95 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $49.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.20. eBay has a twelve month low of $37.17 and a twelve month high of $52.93. The company has a market capitalization of $25.87 billion, a PE ratio of 9.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The e-commerce company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. eBay had a return on equity of 29.16% and a net margin of 27.36%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that eBay will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current year.

eBay Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. This is an increase from eBay’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. eBay’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.69%.

eBay declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 27th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the e-commerce company to reacquire up to 8.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at eBay

In related news, SVP Edward O. Garcia sold 1,165 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.03, for a total value of $50,129.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,372,140.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EBAY. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in eBay by 39.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,418,131 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $547,516,000 after buying an additional 3,534,030 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of eBay by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 48,038,931 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $2,131,487,000 after purchasing an additional 2,464,766 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of eBay by 34.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,839,329 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $254,712,000 after purchasing an additional 1,491,485 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of eBay by 82.6% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,118,490 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock worth $138,367,000 after purchasing an additional 1,410,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of eBay in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,019,000. Institutional investors own 87.48% of the company’s stock.

About eBay

eBay Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates marketplace platforms that connect buyers and sellers in the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Germany, and internationally. The company's marketplace platform includes its online marketplace at ebay.com, off-platform businesses, and the eBay suite of mobile apps.