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

Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $101.72.

Several equities analysts recently commented on BBY shares. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $123.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Best Buy from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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.

Best Buy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BBY opened at $89.80 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $19.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.35, a PEG 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. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $86.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $90.43. Best Buy has a one year low of $69.29 and a one year high of $103.71.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 26th. The technology retailer reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.04). The company 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%. Best Buy’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.29 EPS. Research analysts predict that Best Buy will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling 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. Insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Best Buy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Best Buy by 10.5% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 31,745 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $3,279,000 after purchasing an additional 3,025 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Best Buy by 27.4% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 90,341 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $9,332,000 after purchasing an additional 19,405 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Best Buy by 13.3% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 154,564 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $15,806,000 after purchasing an additional 18,171 shares in the last quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. increased its stake in Best Buy by 48.6% in the fourth quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 26,400 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $2,265,000 after purchasing an additional 8,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Best Buy during the fourth quarter valued at about $453,000. 80.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.