Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold”

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Best Buy from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Best Buy from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $90.00 price target on shares of Best Buy and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $66.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.50.

Best Buy Price Performance

Shares of BBY opened at $85.11 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.94 billion, a PE ratio of 15.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.40. Best Buy has a 1-year low of $55.10 and a 1-year high of $87.35. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $73.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.70.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The technology retailer reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.05. Best Buy had a return on equity of 48.70% and a net margin of 2.73%.The firm had revenue of $8.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Best Buy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.300-6.600 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Best Buy will post 6.56 EPS for the current year.

Best Buy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 18th were issued a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 18th. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. Best Buy’s payout ratio is presently 71.11%.

Insider Transactions at Best Buy

In other Best Buy news, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 500,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.12, for a total value of $38,086,642.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 10,930,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $832,036,206.32. This represents a 4.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Mathew Watson sold 1,784 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.80, for a total transaction of $131,659.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 21,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,596,294. The trade was a 7.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,002,134 shares of company stock valued at $77,283,527. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Best Buy

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Best Buy by 100.6% in the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 70,280 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $4,704,000 after buying an additional 35,239 shares in the last quarter. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new stake in shares of Best Buy in the 4th quarter worth $1,741,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al raised its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 225,000 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $15,059,000 after acquiring an additional 67,600 shares during the period. Oxbow Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Best Buy during the 4th quarter worth $6,295,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Best Buy by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 478,965 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $33,180,000 after acquiring an additional 38,739 shares during the last quarter. 80.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Best Buy

Best Buy Co, Inc is a leading North American consumer electronics retailer that sells a broad range of products including computers, mobile phones, televisions and home theater systems, major appliances, smart-home devices, gaming hardware and software, wearables and related accessories. The company operates through a mix of large-format stores, smaller specialty locations and an e-commerce platform, offering national and private-brand merchandise from major consumer-technology manufacturers as well as third-party sellers.

Beyond product retailing, Best Buy provides a suite of services aimed at installation, repair and ongoing technical support.