Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 167,500 Best Buy Co., Inc. $BBY

Key Points

• Ceredex Value Advisors initiated a new stake in Best Buy, buying 167,500 shares in Q3 worth about $12.67 million, equal to roughly 0.08% of the company.
• Several other institutional investors increased positions (notably Vanguard, which now owns ~23.95M shares worth ~$1.81B), leaving institutional ownership at about 80.96%.
• Analysts hold an average rating of "Hold" with a consensus price target of $76.20, while Best Buy beat EPS estimates ($2.61 vs. $2.48) and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.96 (annualized yield ~5.9%).

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 167,500 shares of the technology retailer's stock, valued at approximately $12,666,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Best Buy as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BBY. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Best Buy by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,947,415 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $1,810,904,000 after purchasing an additional 552,360 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in shares of Best Buy by 46.2% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 142,288 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $10,760,000 after buying an additional 44,989 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Best Buy by 272.6% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 183,842 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $13,902,000 after buying an additional 134,508 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Best Buy by 2.3% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,754,844 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $132,701,000 after buying an additional 39,026 shares during the period. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al boosted its position in Best Buy by 155.9% during the third quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 157,400 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $11,903,000 after acquiring an additional 95,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on BBY. Wedbush cut their price target on Best Buy from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Best Buy from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on Best Buy from $68.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Barclays reduced their target price on Best Buy from $81.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on Best Buy from $73.00 to $66.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Best Buy has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $76.20.

Best Buy Price Performance

BBY opened at $64.85 on Wednesday. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.99 and a 52-week high of $84.99. The company has a 50 day moving average of $66.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.64. The company has a market cap of $13.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The technology retailer reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.13. Best Buy had a net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 49.17%. The business had revenue of $13.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.58 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Best Buy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.300-6.600 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. This is a boost from Best Buy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 24th. Best Buy's payout ratio is presently 75.40%.

About Best Buy

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BBY? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.