eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of eBay from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of eBay in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a sell rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of eBay from $55.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on eBay from $43.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on eBay from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $48.84.

eBay Stock Up 1.6 %

EBAY stock opened at $51.92 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company’s 50 day moving average is $45.72 and its 200 day moving average is $43.27. The stock has a market cap of $26.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.31. eBay has a 1-year low of $37.17 and a 1-year high of $52.82.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The e-commerce company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. eBay had a net margin of 27.36% and a return on equity of 29.16%. eBay’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that eBay will post 3.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

eBay announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 27th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the e-commerce company to purchase up to 8.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

eBay Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. This is an increase from eBay’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. eBay’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other eBay news, SVP Edward O. Garcia sold 1,165 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 31,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,372,140.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EBAY. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of eBay by 42.5% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,611,240 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $72,006,000 after buying an additional 480,156 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI purchased a new position in shares of eBay during the 3rd quarter valued at about $798,000. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in shares of eBay by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,785,607 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $122,817,000 after buying an additional 43,616 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in shares of eBay by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 279,084 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $12,305,000 after buying an additional 34,304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of eBay by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,162,495 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $50,708,000 after buying an additional 276,291 shares in the last quarter. 87.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.