Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation, ten have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $101.06.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on BBY shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Best Buy from $95.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Best Buy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Best Buy in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Best Buy from $109.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Best Buy

In related news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 69,166 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.46, for a total transaction of $6,049,258.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 92,070 shares in the company, valued at $8,052,442.20. The trade was a 42.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.59% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Best Buy

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BBY. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 4,337.6% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,099,495 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $92,677,000 after acquiring an additional 1,074,718 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Best Buy by 55.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,379,195 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $116,252,000 after purchasing an additional 491,781 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Best Buy by 817.4% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 537,886 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $55,564,000 after purchasing an additional 479,256 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of Best Buy in the 2nd quarter worth $25,287,000. Finally, Andra AP fonden lifted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 356.5% in the second quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 331,900 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $27,976,000 after buying an additional 259,187 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Trading Down 1.5 %

BBY opened at $88.03 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $89.42 and its 200-day moving average is $90.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Best Buy has a 52-week low of $69.29 and a 52-week high of $103.71.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 26th. The technology retailer reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $9.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.63 billion. Best Buy had a return on equity of 45.93% and a net margin of 3.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.29 EPS. Analysts expect that Best Buy will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. Best Buy’s payout ratio is 64.27%.

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.