StockNews.com Downgrades Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Best Buy (NYSE:BBYFree Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Thursday morning.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on BBY. BNP Paribas raised shares of Best Buy to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Best Buy from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Best Buy from $95.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on Best Buy from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Best Buy has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $102.41.

View Our Latest Research Report on Best Buy

Best Buy Stock Performance

Best Buy stock opened at $97.44 on Thursday. Best Buy has a fifty-two week low of $62.30 and a fifty-two week high of $103.71. The company has a market capitalization of $21.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.06, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $93.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBYGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 29th. The technology retailer reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.18. Best Buy had a return on equity of 47.19% and a net margin of 2.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Best Buy will post 6.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 19th were given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 19th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.86%. Best Buy’s payout ratio is currently 65.85%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 691,328 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.46, for a total value of $61,154,874.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 14,911,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,319,073,501.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 88,542 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.25, for a total value of $7,813,831.50. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 13,602,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,200,451,777.25. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 691,328 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.46, for a total transaction of $61,154,874.88. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 14,911,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,319,073,501.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,379,870 shares of company stock worth $121,942,706 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Best Buy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Best Buy during the third quarter valued at approximately $558,000. Stablepoint Partners LLC lifted its stake in Best Buy by 15.6% during the third quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 4,763 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Best Buy in the third quarter worth $248,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in Best Buy by 2.2% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 16,070 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $1,660,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 8.9% during the third quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 5,048 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $521,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

About Best Buy

(Get Free Report)

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.

See Also

Analyst Recommendations for Best Buy (NYSE:BBY)

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