Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) Trading Down 0.8% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) were down 0.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $86.53 and last traded at $86.88. Approximately 547,380 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 3,077,612 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.62.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on BBY. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Melius Research assumed coverage on Best Buy in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered Best Buy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. BNP Paribas raised Best Buy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $117.00 target price on shares of Best Buy in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.06.

Best Buy Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $90.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.56, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.44.

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

Best Buy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.41%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.27%.

Insider Activity at Best Buy

In other Best Buy news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 69,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.46, for a total value of $6,049,258.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 92,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBY. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Best Buy by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 13,470 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in Best Buy by 8.1% in the second quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 16,071 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after buying an additional 1,199 shares in the last quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new position in Best Buy in the second quarter valued at about $222,000. Bowman & Co S.C. raised its stake in Best Buy by 7.3% during the second quarter. Bowman & Co S.C. now owns 11,771 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $992,000 after acquiring an additional 796 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 0.4% in the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 42,476 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $3,580,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. 80.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Best Buy

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.