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

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,910,000 shares, an increase of 8.1% from the March 31st total of 14,720,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,100,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.1 days. Approximately 8.2% of the company's shares are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BBY shares. TheStreet raised shares of Best Buy from a "c" rating to a "b-" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Telsey Advisory Group raised Best Buy from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on Best Buy from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Citigroup increased their target price on Best Buy from $67.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $68.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $84.60.

Insider Activity at Best Buy

In other Best Buy news, CAO Mathew Watson sold 2,505 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.80, for a total transaction of $204,909.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,097,188.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Mathew Watson sold 2,505 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.80, for a total value of $204,909.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,638 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,097,188.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Corie S. Barry sold 366 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.76, for a total transaction of $27,728.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 431,231 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,670,060.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,023 shares of company stock worth $4,253,900 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Best Buy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bfsg LLC bought a new position in shares of Best Buy in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Best Buy by 69.5% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 322 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in Best Buy during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Best Buy during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in Best Buy by 549.1% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 357 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.96% of the company's stock.

Best Buy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BBY traded down $1.39 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $73.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,430,787 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,967,465. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $78.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.94, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.49. Best Buy has a 12-month low of $62.30 and a 12-month high of $86.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The technology retailer reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.21. Best Buy had a net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 48.45%. The business had revenue of $14.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.61 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Best Buy will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a $0.94 dividend. This is a boost from Best Buy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.11%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. Best Buy's payout ratio is currently 66.08%.

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.

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