Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) Shares Up 0.6% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) were up 0.6% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $87.80 and last traded at $87.56. 511,368 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 3,074,410 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.07.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BBY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Best Buy from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $117.00 price objective on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Best Buy from $123.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Best Buy from $111.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.06.

Best Buy Stock Down 0.9 %

The company has a market cap of $18.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $91.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 1.00.

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

Best Buy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.29%. Best Buy’s payout ratio is currently 64.27%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 69,166 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 92,070 shares in the company, valued at $8,052,442.20. This trade represents a 42.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Best Buy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BBY. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Best Buy by 190.9% in the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 320 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Best Buy during the second quarter worth $35,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Best Buy in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. LRI Investments LLC lifted its stake in Best Buy by 632.1% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 388 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Best Buy by 53.3% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 492 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. 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.