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

Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have assigned a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $85.72.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on BBY shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Best Buy from $75.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 30th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Best Buy from $89.00 to $74.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Wedbush cut their price target on Best Buy from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th.

Insider Activity at Best Buy

In related news, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 729,201 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.95, for a total value of $53,195,212.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 196,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,305,495. This trade represents a 78.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Best Buy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BBY. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its position in shares of Best Buy by 108.5% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 342 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Best Buy during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Best Buy during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Best Buy by 186.9% in the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 373 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Best Buy by 18,700.0% during the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 376 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Stock Performance

Shares of BBY stock opened at $66.85 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $70.47 and a 200-day moving average of $74.80. The company has a market cap of $14.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Best Buy has a 52 week low of $54.99 and a 52 week high of $103.71.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The technology retailer reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $8.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.77 billion. Best Buy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 46.40%. The business’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.20 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Best Buy will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Best Buy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 19th were given a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.68%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.91%.

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.