Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) Downgraded by The Goldman Sachs Group to “Sell”

The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) from a buy rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has $59.00 price target on the technology retailer’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. DA Davidson set a $78.00 target price on Best Buy in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Best Buy from $94.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Best Buy from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Barclays reduced their target price on Best Buy from $81.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Best Buy from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Best Buy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.10.

Best Buy Stock Down 2.6%

BBY stock opened at $60.76 on Monday. Best Buy has a twelve month low of $59.16 and a twelve month high of $84.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $12.71 billion, a PE ratio of 12.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a 50 day moving average of $64.48 and a 200 day moving average of $70.70.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The technology retailer reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $13.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.96 billion. Best Buy had a return on equity of 49.17% and a net margin of 2.56%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.58 EPS. Best Buy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.300-6.600 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Best Buy will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 24th will be paid a $0.96 dividend. This is an increase from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 24th. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.19%.

Insider Transactions at Best Buy

In related news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 11,356 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.02, for a total transaction of $727,011.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 76,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,922,113.68. The trade was a 12.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Corie S. Barry sold 42,869 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.02, for a total value of $2,744,473.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 523,138 shares in the company, valued at $33,491,294.76. This trade represents a 7.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 77,247 shares of company stock worth $4,945,353. Company insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Best Buy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Best Buy by 69.3% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 337 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Best Buy during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Best Buy during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Best Buy during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Best Buy during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. 80.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Best Buy Company Profile

Best Buy Co, Inc is a leading North American consumer electronics retailer that sells a broad range of products including computers, mobile phones, televisions and home theater systems, major appliances, smart-home devices, gaming hardware and software, wearables and related accessories. The company operates through a mix of large-format stores, smaller specialty locations and an e-commerce platform, offering national and private-brand merchandise from major consumer-technology manufacturers as well as third-party sellers.

Beyond product retailing, Best Buy provides a suite of services aimed at installation, repair and ongoing technical support.