Best Buy Co Inc (NYSE:BBY) – Equities research analysts at Piper Jaffray Companies lowered their Q4 2020 earnings estimates for Best Buy in a report issued on Thursday, May 23rd, Zacks Investment Research reports. Piper Jaffray Companies analyst P. Keith now expects that the technology retailer will post earnings per share of $2.74 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.80. Piper Jaffray Companies also issued estimates for Best Buy’s Q1 2021 earnings at $1.01 EPS, Q2 2021 earnings at $1.06 EPS, Q3 2021 earnings at $1.06 EPS, Q4 2021 earnings at $3.07 EPS and FY2021 earnings at $6.14 EPS.
A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on BBY. Zacks Investment Research cut Best Buy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Oppenheimer raised Best Buy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $86.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Wedbush set a $71.00 target price on Best Buy and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Best Buy from $65.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 28th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group raised Best Buy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $70.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 28th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.81.
Shares of Best Buy stock traded up $0.60 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $66.63. 1,917,410 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,228,031. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 1.12. The company has a market capitalization of $17.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.05. Best Buy has a 52 week low of $47.72 and a 52 week high of $84.37. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.38.
Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The technology retailer reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $9.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.14 billion. Best Buy had a return on equity of 47.91% and a net margin of 3.54%. Best Buy’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.82 EPS.
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Best Buy during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Braun Bostich & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Best Buy in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Best Buy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. PRW Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Best Buy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Best Buy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 78.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
In related news, insider Kathleen Scarlett sold 2,694 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.33, for a total value of $173,305.02. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,932,730.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Rajendra M. Mohan sold 30,000 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.92, for a total value of $2,217,600.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 814,973 shares of company stock worth $54,406,869. 0.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 13th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 12th. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.59%.
Best Buy announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology retailer to purchase up to 18.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.
About Best Buy
Best Buy Co, Inc operates as a retailer of technology products, services, and solutions in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The company operates in two segments, Domestic and International. Its stores provide Computing and Mobile Phones, such as computing and peripherals, e-readers, networking products, tablets, and wearables, as well as mobile phones comprising related mobile network carrier commissions; consumer electronics, including digital imaging, health and fitness, home theater, portable audio, and smart home products; and entertainment products consisting of drones, movies, music, and toys, as well as gaming hardware and software, and virtual reality and other software products.