Traders Purchase High Volume of Put Options on Best Buy (NYSE:BBY)

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors bought 9,418 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 40% compared to the typical daily volume of 6,725 put options.

Best Buy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BBY traded up $2.48 on Monday, hitting $93.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,745,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,252,846. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $85.24 and a 200-day moving average of $72.89. The company has a market capitalization of $19.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.28. Best Buy has a 12-month low of $55.10 and a 12-month high of $94.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 27th. The technology retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.08. Best Buy had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 48.14%. The business had revenue of $9.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.59 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Best Buy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.700-6.900 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Best Buy will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Best Buy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 17th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Best Buy

In other news, Chairman Richard Schulze sold 224,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.10, for a total transaction of $17,549,460.50. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 10,430,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $814,656,101.60. This represents a 2.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 423,701 shares of company stock worth $33,096,355. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Best Buy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Best Buy during the second quarter worth $1,932,812,000. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Best Buy by 8,279.9% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 22,175,854 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $1,682,704,000 after buying an additional 21,911,223 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Best Buy by 99.8% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,997,871 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $525,120,000 after buying an additional 3,496,254 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Best Buy in the 4th quarter worth about $174,685,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in Best Buy by 378.8% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 3,096,015 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $207,216,000 after buying an additional 2,449,342 shares during the period. 80.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BBY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $90.00 target price (up from $86.00) on shares of Best Buy in a report on Friday, August 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Best Buy from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Best Buy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 29th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Best Buy in a report on Monday, August 3rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Best Buy from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Best Buy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.40.

Best Buy Company Profile

Best Buy Co, Inc is a specialty retailer of technology products and services operating under the Best Buy brand. The company sells consumer electronics, computers, mobile phones, appliances, entertainment products, smart-home equipment, and related accessories through its retail stores, websites, and other sales channels.

Best Buy also provides technology support, installation, repair, and consultation services through Geek Squad. Its offerings include assistance with device setup, home theater installation, computer and appliance support, and technology solutions for consumers and small businesses.