Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Friday.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Best Buy from $115.00 to $109.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America raised their price target on Best Buy from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $117.00 price objective on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.35.

Best Buy Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE BBY traded up $1.08 on Friday, hitting $92.66. The company had a trading volume of 3,766,490 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,988,747. 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 12-month low of $62.92 and a 12-month high of $103.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.98, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.47. The business has a 50 day moving average of $95.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $88.12.

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

Best Buy Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Best Buy

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Best Buy by 190.9% during the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 320 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Best Buy during the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Best Buy during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. LRI Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 632.1% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 388 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in Best Buy by 53.3% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 492 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. 80.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.