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

Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation, ten have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $101.72.

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Best Buy from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Best Buy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of Best Buy from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Best Buy from $111.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group cut their target price on shares of Best Buy from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th.

Best Buy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BBY opened at $89.80 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $86.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Best Buy has a 1 year low of $69.29 and a 1 year high of $103.71.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 26th. The technology retailer reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $9.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.63 billion. Best Buy had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 45.93%. The business’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Best Buy will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.19%. Best Buy’s payout ratio is 64.27%.

Insider Activity at Best Buy

In other Best Buy news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 69,166 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.46, for a total value of $6,049,258.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 92,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,052,442.20. The trade was a 42.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.59% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Best Buy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Best Buy by 971.9% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 343 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Best Buy during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Best Buy during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Best Buy by 186.9% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 373 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Best Buy by 18,700.0% during the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 376 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. 80.96% of the stock is owned by 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.