Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the twenty brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $91.28.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BBY shares. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Best Buy from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Best Buy from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Loop Capital reiterated a "negative" rating on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th.

Best Buy Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Best Buy stock opened at $68.05 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $14.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.42. Best Buy has a 52-week low of $54.99 and a 52-week high of $103.71. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $70.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.94.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.18. Best Buy had a return on equity of 45.93% and a net margin of 3.01%. The business had revenue of $13.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.72 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Best Buy will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 25th. This is an increase from Best Buy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.58%. Best Buy's payout ratio is 88.99%.

Insider Transactions at Best Buy

In related news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 51,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.20, for a total value of $3,784,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 55,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,144,515.20. This trade represents a 47.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Corie S. Barry bought 13,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $72.92 per share, with a total value of $984,420.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 378,780 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,620,637.60. This trade represents a 3.70 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 78,355 shares of company stock worth $5,767,213 over the last quarter. 0.59% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 108.5% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 342 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in Best Buy by 971.9% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 343 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Best Buy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Best Buy in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Best Buy by 186.9% in the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 373 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.96% of the company's stock.

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.

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