Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) Sets New 52-Week Low on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $69.00 to $60.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Best Buy traded as low as $55.61 and last traded at $55.9880, with a volume of 251354 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $57.20.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Best Buy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Best Buy from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. HSBC dropped their price objective on Best Buy from $96.00 to $85.00 in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane increased their target price on Best Buy from $68.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Best Buy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.30.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Corie S. Barry sold 42,869 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.02, for a total transaction of $2,744,473.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 523,138 shares in the company, valued at $33,491,294.76. This trade represents a 7.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen Scarlett sold 8,049 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.02, for a total transaction of $515,296.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 102,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,572,869.38. This represents a 7.27% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 77,247 shares of company stock valued at $4,945,353 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. CacheTech Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 39.8% in the 1st quarter. CacheTech Inc. now owns 4,731 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 1,348 shares during the period. Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS acquired a new stake in Best Buy during the first quarter worth about $355,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Best Buy by 12.3% in the first quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 26,071 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $1,699,000 after acquiring an additional 2,863 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Best Buy by 40.6% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,968 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 1,146 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Best Buy by 50.5% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,584,803 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $101,745,000 after acquiring an additional 531,998 shares during the period. 80.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Best Buy Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $62.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.54. The company has a market capitalization of $11.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.22.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The technology retailer reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $13.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.96 billion. Best Buy had a return on equity of 49.17% and a net margin of 2.56%.The business’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.58 EPS. Best Buy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.300-6.600 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 24th were issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.9%. This is a positive change from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 24th. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.19%.

Best Buy Company Profile

Best Buy Co, Inc is a leading North American consumer electronics retailer that sells a broad range of products including computers, mobile phones, televisions and home theater systems, major appliances, smart-home devices, gaming hardware and software, wearables and related accessories. The company operates through a mix of large-format stores, smaller specialty locations and an e-commerce platform, offering national and private-brand merchandise from major consumer-technology manufacturers as well as third-party sellers.

Beyond product retailing, Best Buy provides a suite of services aimed at installation, repair and ongoing technical support.