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 research note released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

BBY has been the subject of a number of other reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Best Buy from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Best Buy in a report on Monday, August 3rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Best Buy from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $100.00 price target on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.65.

Best Buy Stock Up 0.2%

BBY stock opened at $87.83 on Friday. Best Buy has a one year low of $55.10 and a one year high of $96.53. The firm has a market cap of $18.42 billion, a PE ratio of 14.61, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $87.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 1.12.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.08. Best Buy had a return on equity of 48.14% and a net margin of 3.01%.The company had revenue of $9.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Best Buy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.700-6.900 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Best Buy will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Best Buy Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 17th. Best Buy’s payout ratio is currently 63.89%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Richard Schulze sold 300,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.51, for a total transaction of $27,753,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen Scarlett sold 116,062 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total value of $10,695,113.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 116,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,705,341.95. This represents a 49.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BBY. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Best Buy by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 7,999 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $706,000 after buying an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Best Buy by 15.9% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,305 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $554,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Best Buy by 4.4% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 21,987 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $1,668,000 after acquiring an additional 924 shares in the last quarter. Andra AP fonden purchased a new stake in shares of Best Buy during the second quarter worth $1,322,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Best Buy by 18.1% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,049 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,845 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Company Profile

Best Buy Co, Inc (NYSE: BBY) is a specialty retailer of technology products and services. The company sells consumer electronics, computers and tablets, mobile phones, appliances, entertainment products, smart-home devices, gaming equipment and related accessories through its stores and digital platforms.

Best Buy also provides technology services through Geek Squad, including product installation, setup, repair, troubleshooting and technical support. Its operations include retail stores, e-commerce, delivery and fulfillment services, as well as membership and protection offerings.