Brokerages Set Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) Target Price at $93.50

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $93.50.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BBY. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Best Buy from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Best Buy from $105.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Best Buy from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price objective on Best Buy from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Best Buy from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Corie S. Barry acquired 13,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $72.92 per share, for a total transaction of $984,420.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 378,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,620,637.60. This trade represents a 3.70 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.59% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Best Buy

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH increased its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 254.9% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 15,349 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $1,317,000 after acquiring an additional 11,024 shares in the last quarter. GHE LLC increased its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. GHE LLC now owns 19,163 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $1,644,000 after acquiring an additional 788 shares in the last quarter. Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Best Buy in the fourth quarter worth about $731,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Best Buy in the fourth quarter worth about $29,090,000. Finally, Brooklyn FI LLC bought a new stake in shares of Best Buy in the fourth quarter worth about $315,000. 80.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Best Buy Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of Best Buy stock opened at $71.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $15.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Best Buy has a 52-week low of $69.29 and a 52-week high of $103.71. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.95.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $13.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.69 billion. Best Buy had a return on equity of 45.93% and a net margin of 3.01%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.72 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Best Buy will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.31%. This is a positive change from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Best Buy’s payout ratio is currently 88.99%.

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.