Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $93.50.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BBY shares. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Best Buy from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Best Buy from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Best Buy from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Best Buy from $106.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Corie S. Barry acquired 13,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $72.92 per share, with a total value of $984,420.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 378,780 shares in the company, valued at $27,620,637.60. This represents a 3.70 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mathew Watson sold 3,182 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total value of $226,844.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 19,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,370,051.22. This trade represents a 14.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Best Buy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 971.9% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 343 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the period. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Best Buy in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Best Buy in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Best Buy by 186.9% in the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 373 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Best Buy by 18,700.0% in the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 376 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Trading Down 0.4 %

BBY opened at $73.52 on Friday. Best Buy has a 52 week low of $69.29 and a 52 week high of $103.71. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $83.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.36. The company has a market capitalization of $15.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.18. Best Buy had a return on equity of 45.93% and a net margin of 3.01%. The business had revenue of $13.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.72 EPS. Analysts forecast that Best Buy will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.17%. This is a boost from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Best Buy’s payout ratio is currently 88.99%.

Best Buy Company Profile

Best Buy Co, Inc engages in the retail of technology products in the United States, Canada, and international. Its stores provide computing and mobile phone products, such as desktops, notebooks, and peripherals; mobile phones comprising related mobile network carrier commissions; networking products; tablets covering e-readers; smartwatches; and consumer electronics consisting of digital imaging, health and fitness products, portable audio comprising headphones and portable speakers, and smart home products, as well as home theaters, which includes home theater accessories, soundbars, and televisions.