NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Saturday.

NTES has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an equal weight rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of NetEase in a research note on Friday, July 5th. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of NetEase from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. HSBC cut their price target on shares of NetEase from $130.00 to $126.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of NetEase in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NetEase presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $123.86.

NetEase Stock Performance

Shares of NTES opened at $93.48 on Friday. NetEase has a twelve month low of $81.30 and a twelve month high of $118.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $93.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.03. The firm has a market cap of $60.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.49, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.53.

NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The technology company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by ($0.05). NetEase had a net margin of 28.75% and a return on equity of 24.19%. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that NetEase will post 6.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NetEase Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, June 6th were issued a dividend of $0.495 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 6th. This represents a $1.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. NetEase’s payout ratio is 30.54%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NetEase

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in NetEase by 1.9% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 7,658 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $732,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. acquired a new position in NetEase during the second quarter worth $267,000. Summit Global Investments increased its holdings in NetEase by 184.9% during the second quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 30,778 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,942,000 after buying an additional 19,976 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in NetEase during the second quarter worth $1,708,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in NetEase by 20.5% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 25,823 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,468,000 after buying an additional 4,395 shares during the last quarter. 11.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.