Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $86.00 target price (up from $85.00) on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Wedbush increased their price target on Best Buy from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Best Buy from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Best Buy from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on shares of Best Buy from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.50.

Best Buy Price Performance

Best Buy stock opened at $85.20 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $17.96 billion, a PE ratio of 15.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.30. Best Buy has a 52-week low of $55.10 and a 52-week high of $87.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company’s 50 day moving average is $73.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.82.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The technology retailer reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.05. Best Buy had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 48.70%. The company had revenue of $8.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Best Buy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.300-6.600 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Best Buy will post 6.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Best Buy news, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 500,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.12, for a total transaction of $38,086,642.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 10,930,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $832,036,206.32. This trade represents a 4.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Mathew Watson sold 1,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.80, for a total transaction of $131,659.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 21,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,596,294. This represents a 7.62% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 1,002,134 shares of company stock valued at $77,283,527 over the last ninety days. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Best Buy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BBY. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 99.8% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,997,871 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $525,120,000 after purchasing an additional 3,496,254 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Best Buy in the 4th quarter valued at about $174,685,000. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in shares of Best Buy by 378.8% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 3,096,015 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $207,216,000 after purchasing an additional 2,449,342 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Best Buy by 104.1% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,020,539 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $135,685,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030,544 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in Best Buy by 293.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,052,805 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $70,464,000 after buying an additional 785,294 shares during the last quarter. 80.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.