Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

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

Several research firms recently issued reports on BBY. Loop Capital reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price 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. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Best Buy from $102.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Best Buy from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th.

Best Buy Stock Down 0.4 %

Best Buy stock opened at $73.52 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $15.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 1.00. Best Buy has a one year low of $69.29 and a one year high of $103.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $83.54 and a 200 day moving average of $89.36.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $13.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.69 billion. Best Buy had a return on equity of 45.93% and a net margin of 3.01%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.72 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Best Buy will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.17%. This is a positive change from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.99%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Best Buy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Best Buy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,293,000. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Best Buy by 48.6% during the 4th quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 26,400 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $2,265,000 after purchasing an additional 8,640 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its holdings in Best Buy by 424.0% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 26,200 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $2,248,000 after purchasing an additional 21,200 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Best Buy during the 4th quarter worth $453,000. Finally, TCW Group Inc. increased its holdings in Best Buy by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 401,098 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $34,414,000 after purchasing an additional 84,505 shares during the period. 80.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Best Buy

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.