Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on BBY. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Best Buy from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $81.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $115.00 to $109.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Best Buy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $114.00 price target (up previously from $100.00) on shares of Best Buy in a report on Friday, August 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.35.

Best Buy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BBY traded up $1.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $92.66. 3,766,490 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,988,747. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.90 billion, a PE ratio of 15.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Best Buy has a 52-week low of $62.92 and a 52-week high of $103.71.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The technology retailer reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.18. Best Buy had a return on equity of 47.19% and a net margin of 2.96%. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Best Buy will post 6.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Best Buy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 19th were paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 19th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.06%. Best Buy’s payout ratio is currently 64.83%.

Institutional Trading of Best Buy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Best Buy by 4.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,164,953 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $636,840,000 after purchasing an additional 241,988 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Best Buy by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,852,980 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $499,954,000 after acquiring an additional 120,185 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Best Buy by 1.8% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,440,215 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $355,374,000 after acquiring an additional 62,452 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Best Buy by 8.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,055,743 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $257,569,000 after acquiring an additional 235,478 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Best Buy by 55.7% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,863,291 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $241,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024,824 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Company Profile

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.