Benchmark Has Lowered Expectations for NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) Stock Price

NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES - Free Report) had its target price reduced by Benchmark from $120.00 to $105.00 in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the technology company's stock.

NTES has been the subject of several other research reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of NetEase from $104.00 to $82.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. Bank of America dropped their target price on NetEase from $142.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on NetEase from $126.00 to $103.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded NetEase from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.29.

NetEase Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ NTES traded up $1.27 during trading on Friday, reaching $85.49. 2,038,372 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,748,095. The business's 50-day moving average price is $83.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.09. NetEase has a twelve month low of $75.85 and a twelve month high of $118.89. The company has a market capitalization of $54.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.57.

NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The technology company reported $12.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $10.43. The firm had revenue of $25.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.01 billion. NetEase had a net margin of 26.98% and a return on equity of 22.30%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.75 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that NetEase will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NetEase Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.435 per share. This represents a $1.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. NetEase's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NetEase

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of NetEase by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 327,400 shares of the technology company's stock worth $33,876,000 after purchasing an additional 36,000 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in NetEase by 804.5% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 792,357 shares of the technology company's stock worth $81,983,000 after purchasing an additional 704,753 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its holdings in NetEase by 4.7% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 134,344 shares of the technology company's stock worth $13,261,000 after purchasing an additional 6,065 shares in the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its holdings in NetEase by 16.7% in the third quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 86,741 shares of the technology company's stock worth $8,111,000 after purchasing an additional 12,410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its stake in NetEase by 79.0% in the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 12,677 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,312,000 after acquiring an additional 5,595 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 11.07% of the company's stock.

About NetEase

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.