eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the seventeen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $49.21.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on EBAY shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on eBay from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group upped their target price on eBay from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on eBay from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on eBay from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on eBay in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company.

eBay Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ EBAY opened at $50.25 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $48.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.12. eBay has a 52-week low of $37.17 and a 52-week high of $52.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.63, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 2.44, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The e-commerce company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that eBay will post 3.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

eBay Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This is an increase from eBay’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. eBay’s dividend payout ratio is 20.69%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of eBay

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wimmer Associates 1 LLC lifted its holdings in shares of eBay by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Wimmer Associates 1 LLC now owns 8,583 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. boosted its position in eBay by 4.3% during the third quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 6,297 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. GHE LLC boosted its position in eBay by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. GHE LLC now owns 17,480 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $762,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its position in eBay by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 11,411 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $498,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in eBay by 3.3% during the second quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 8,316 shares of the e-commerce company’s stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.