NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on NetEase, with seven buy ratings and three holds among 10 analysts. The average 12-month price target is $160.57.
• NetEase shares opened at $117.05, down 2.0%, with a market capitalization of approximately $74.94 billion and a 12-month trading range of $106.06 to $159.55.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, equivalent to an annualized $1.92 payout and a 1.6% yield; its payout ratio is 39.53%.

NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the ten ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $160.5714.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NTES. Wall Street Zen downgraded NetEase from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $158.00 price objective on shares of NetEase in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of NetEase from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of NetEase in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of NetEase in a report on Friday, May 22nd.

NetEase Trading Down 2.0%

NTES stock opened at $117.05 on Friday. NetEase has a 12-month low of $106.06 and a 12-month high of $159.55. The company has a market cap of $74.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.12, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $127.07 and a 200-day moving average of $120.51.

NetEase Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. NetEase's payout ratio is 39.53%.

Insider Activity

In other NetEase news, General Counsel William Jr sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.30, for a total transaction of $1,283,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 12,223 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,568,210.90. This trade represents a 45.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 54.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NetEase

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of NetEase during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in NetEase in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in NetEase by 7,480.0% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 379 shares of the technology company's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of NetEase by 3,381.8% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 383 shares of the technology company's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MidFirst Bank acquired a new stake in NetEase during the 4th quarter worth about $57,000. 11.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About NetEase

NetEase, Inc NASDAQ: NTES is a Chinese technology company headquartered in Hangzhou that develops and operates Internet services and products. Founded in 1997 by William Ding (Ding Lei), the company has grown from an early web portal and e-mail provider into a diversified online services group. William Ding has served as the company's founder and long-time leader, guiding its expansion into games, digital content and consumer services.

The company's primary business is interactive entertainment: NetEase Games designs, develops and publishes PC and mobile games for domestic and international audiences, offering a mix of self-developed franchises and titles published under licensing and strategic partnerships.

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