Best Buy Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:BBY)

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors bought 46,788 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 249% compared to the average volume of 13,422 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BBY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Best Buy from $111.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on Best Buy from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Melius Research started coverage on Best Buy in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Best Buy from $123.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Best Buy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Best Buy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.06.

Best Buy Stock Up 1.5 %

BBY stock traded up $1.34 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $88.94. 2,987,866 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,080,161. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $90.54. The company has a market capitalization of $19.02 billion, a PE ratio of 15.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.44. Best Buy has a twelve month low of $69.29 and a twelve month high of $103.71.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The technology retailer reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.04). Best Buy had a return on equity of 45.93% and a net margin of 3.01%. The business had revenue of $9.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.29 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Best Buy will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. Best Buy’s payout ratio is currently 64.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 69,166 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.46, for a total value of $6,049,258.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 92,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,052,442.20. This trade represents a 42.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.59% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Best Buy

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Best Buy by 4.0% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 13,470 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $1,135,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Best Buy in the 2nd quarter valued at $809,000. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Best Buy by 34.7% in the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 578 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Best Buy by 9.8% during the second quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 34,604 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $2,917,000 after purchasing an additional 3,091 shares during the period. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Best Buy in the second quarter valued at about $803,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

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.