Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the twenty research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $89.33.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BBY shares. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Best Buy in a report on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $70.00 target price (down previously from $93.00) on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Best Buy from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th.

Best Buy Stock Performance

BBY stock traded down $5.04 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $66.48. 11,674,987 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,402,087. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.25. Best Buy has a twelve month low of $54.99 and a twelve month high of $103.71. The company has a market capitalization of $14.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The technology retailer reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.06. Best Buy had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 45.93%. The business had revenue of $8.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.20 earnings per share. Best Buy's revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Best Buy will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This is an increase from Best Buy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.72%. Best Buy's dividend payout ratio is 88.99%.

Insider Activity

In other Best Buy news, insider Todd G. Hartman sold 4,893 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.65, for a total transaction of $355,476.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 32,320 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,348,048. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Corie S. Barry purchased 13,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $72.92 per share, for a total transaction of $984,420.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 378,780 shares in the company, valued at $27,620,637.60. This represents a 3.70% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 78,355 shares of company stock worth $5,767,213. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Best Buy

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

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.