Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) Short Interest Update

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,560,000 shares, a decrease of 18.2% from the April 30th total of 14,130,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,210,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days. Currently, 5.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on BBY. Bank of America lowered their price target on Best Buy from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Best Buy from $106.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective 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. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Best Buy to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Best Buy from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Best Buy presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $86.11.

Best Buy Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of BBY traded up $0.74 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $70.41. The company had a trading volume of 3,292,854 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,320,424. Best Buy has a 52-week low of $54.99 and a 52-week high of $103.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $66.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The technology retailer reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Best Buy will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. Best Buy's dividend payout ratio is currently 92.91%.

Insider Transactions at Best Buy

In other news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 9,482 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.65, for a total value of $688,867.30. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 106,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,763,088.40. This trade represents a 8.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd G. Hartman sold 4,893 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 32,320 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,348,048. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 78,355 shares of company stock worth $5,767,213. 0.59% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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