Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) Stock Price

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) had its price target decreased by investment analysts at Barclays from $95.00 to $89.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the technology retailer’s stock. Barclays‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 5.63% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on BBY. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of Best Buy from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Best Buy from $109.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $117.00 price target on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Best Buy from $95.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Best Buy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.72.

Best Buy Stock Performance

BBY traded down $0.02 during trading on Thursday, hitting $84.26. The stock had a trading volume of 2,207,852 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,421,037. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $88.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $90.23. Best Buy has a one year low of $69.29 and a one year high of $103.71. The firm has a market cap of $18.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.43.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The technology retailer reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.04). Best Buy had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 45.93%. The business had revenue of $9.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.63 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.29 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Best Buy will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Best Buy news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 69,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.46, for a total transaction of $6,049,258.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 92,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,052,442.20. The trade was a 42.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.59% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Best Buy

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in Best Buy by 4,337.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,074,718 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Best Buy by 563.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 592,460 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $50,643,000 after purchasing an additional 503,204 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Best Buy by 55.4% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,379,195 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $116,252,000 after buying an additional 491,781 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 479,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in Best Buy in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,287,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

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.