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

Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $90.87.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BBY. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Best Buy from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $67.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, June 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Best Buy

In other Best Buy news, EVP Jason J. Bonfig sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total transaction of $290,570.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,210,276.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Jason J. Bonfig sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total value of $290,570.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,210,276.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.21, for a total transaction of $80,210,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 8,850 shares in the company, valued at $709,858.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,383,370 shares of company stock valued at $288,293,276 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Best Buy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new position in shares of Best Buy in the first quarter worth about $8,676,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Best Buy by 78.7% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 898 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP raised its stake in Best Buy by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 195,156 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $15,277,000 after purchasing an additional 50,438 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Best Buy by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 103,459 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $8,100,000 after purchasing an additional 8,042 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in Best Buy during the fourth quarter worth about $328,000. 80.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Best Buy Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE BBY opened at $80.70 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $17.41 billion, a PE ratio of 14.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $86.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.64. Best Buy has a 52 week low of $62.30 and a 52 week high of $93.72.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The technology retailer reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.12. Best Buy had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 47.56%. The business had revenue of $8.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. Best Buy’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Best Buy will post 6.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 20th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 20th. Best Buy’s payout ratio is 65.85%.

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.