Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Best Buy was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a buy to a hold, while the broader analyst consensus remains Hold with a $79.50 average price target.
• The company recently posted better-than-expected quarterly results, earning $1.28 per share on $8.94 billion in revenue, both above Wall Street estimates.
• There has been notable insider selling, including large share sales by Chairman Richard M. Schulze and CAO Mathew Watson, even as institutional investors continue to own the majority of the stock.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $77.00 price target on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Daiwa Securities Group increased their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Best Buy in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Best Buy from $60.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.50.

Best Buy Stock Performance

Shares of Best Buy stock opened at $77.81 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.40 billion, a PE ratio of 14.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Best Buy has a 52 week low of $55.10 and a 52 week high of $84.99. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $68.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.81.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The technology retailer reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $8.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.82 billion. Best Buy had a return on equity of 48.70% and a net margin of 2.73%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. Best Buy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.300-6.600 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Best Buy will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Best Buy

In other Best Buy news, CAO Mathew Watson sold 1,784 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.80, for a total value of $131,659.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 21,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,596,294. This represents a 7.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 224,705 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.10, for a total transaction of $17,549,460.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 10,430,936 shares in the company, valued at approximately $814,656,101.60. This represents a 2.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,002,134 shares of company stock worth $77,283,527. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Best Buy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BBY. Krane Funds Advisors LLC raised its stake in Best Buy by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC now owns 5,163 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Best Buy by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,637 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 4,270 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Best Buy by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,345 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J. Team Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Best Buy by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. J. Team Financial Inc. now owns 4,251 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.96% of the company's stock.

Best Buy Company Profile

Best Buy Co, Inc is a leading North American consumer electronics retailer that sells a broad range of products including computers, mobile phones, televisions and home theater systems, major appliances, smart-home devices, gaming hardware and software, wearables and related accessories. The company operates through a mix of large-format stores, smaller specialty locations and an e-commerce platform, offering national and private-brand merchandise from major consumer-technology manufacturers as well as third-party sellers.

Beyond product retailing, Best Buy provides a suite of services aimed at installation, repair and ongoing technical support.

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