Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,560,000 shares, a decrease of 6.5% from the December 15th total of 13,430,000 shares. Currently, 6.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,980,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.2 days.

Insider Transactions at Best Buy

In related news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 69,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.46, for a total value of $6,049,258.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 92,070 shares in the company, valued at $8,052,442.20. The trade was a 42.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in Best Buy by 4,337.6% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,099,495 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $92,677,000 after buying an additional 1,074,718 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 563.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 592,460 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $50,643,000 after acquiring an additional 503,204 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Best Buy by 55.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,379,195 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $116,252,000 after acquiring an additional 491,781 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 479,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in Best Buy in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,287,000. 80.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Best Buy Stock Performance

NYSE BBY traded down $0.30 on Friday, hitting $81.91. 2,974,891 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,243,368. The business’s fifty day moving average is $87.17 and its 200 day moving average is $90.15. Best Buy has a 52 week low of $69.29 and a 52 week high of $103.71. The company has a market capitalization of $17.51 billion, a PE ratio of 14.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 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 (NYSE:BBY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The technology retailer reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.04). Best Buy had a return on equity of 45.93% and a net margin of 3.01%. The company had revenue of $9.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.63 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Best Buy will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BBY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Best Buy from $107.00 to $95.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Best Buy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $117.00 target price on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price target on shares of Best Buy from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.72.

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.