Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after Truist Financial lowered their price target on the stock from $107.00 to $95.00. The stock had previously closed at $93.03, but opened at $86.56. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the stock. Best Buy shares last traded at $85.61, with a volume of 1,927,809 shares trading hands.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on BBY. UBS Group cut their price objective on Best Buy from $123.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America upped their target price on Best Buy from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Best Buy from $111.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Melius Research assumed coverage on Best Buy in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Best Buy from $109.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Best Buy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.82.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Best Buy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BBY. Ninety One UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Best Buy in the second quarter valued at approximately $121,325,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Best Buy by 4,337.6% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,099,495 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $92,677,000 after acquiring an additional 1,074,718 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Best Buy by 55.7% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,863,291 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $241,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024,824 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Best Buy in the first quarter valued at approximately $43,522,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 491,781 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $18.93 billion, a PE ratio of 15.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $94.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $89.07. 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 (NYSE:BBY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The technology retailer reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.18. Best Buy had a return on equity of 47.19% and a net margin of 2.96%. The firm had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 4.27%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.83%.

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.