Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) Stock Rated "Hold" by Sell-Side Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts collectively rate Best Buy “Hold.” Of 21 covering brokerages, 11 issued hold ratings, seven rated it a buy, two rated it a sell and one gave it a strong buy; the average 12-month price target is $85.65.
• Best Buy recently exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.47 in EPS versus a $1.39 estimate and $9.78 billion in revenue versus a $9.59 billion estimate. Revenue increased 3.6% year over year.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.96, equal to a 4.4% annualized yield, while insiders recently sold substantial holdings and institutional investors own approximately 80.96% of the stock.

Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the twenty-one brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $85.65.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Best Buy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 3rd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Best Buy from $79.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Truist Financial set a $100.00 target price on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Best Buy from $65.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Best Buy from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th.

Best Buy Stock Performance

NYSE BBY opened at $87.02 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $87.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.52. Best Buy has a twelve month low of $55.10 and a twelve month high of $96.53.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 27th. The technology retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.08. Best Buy had a return on equity of 48.14% and a net margin of 3.01%. The company had revenue of $9.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Best Buy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.700-6.900 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Best Buy will post 6.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 17th were issued a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 17th. Best Buy's payout ratio is 63.89%.

Insider Transactions at Best Buy

In related news, Chairman Richard Schulze sold 300,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.51, for a total transaction of $27,753,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen Scarlett sold 116,062 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total value of $10,695,113.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 116,173 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,705,341.95. The trade was a 49.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Best Buy during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Bayban bought a new position in Best Buy during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Maseco LLP purchased a new position in shares of Best Buy in the 1st quarter worth $37,000. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Best Buy in the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 65.9% in the 1st quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 730 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. 80.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Best Buy Company Profile

Best Buy Co, Inc NYSE: BBY is a specialty retailer of technology products and services. The company sells consumer electronics, computers and tablets, mobile phones, appliances, entertainment products, smart-home devices, gaming equipment and related accessories through its stores and digital platforms.

Best Buy also provides technology services through Geek Squad, including product installation, setup, repair, troubleshooting and technical support. Its operations include retail stores, e-commerce, delivery and fulfillment services, as well as membership and protection offerings.

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