Short Interest in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) Decreases By 6.5%

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) saw a significant decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,560,000 shares, a decline of 6.5% from the December 15th total of 13,430,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,980,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days. Approximately 6.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Activity at Best Buy

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

Institutional Trading of Best Buy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Best Buy by 190.9% during the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 320 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Best Buy during the third quarter valued at $40,000. LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in Best Buy by 632.1% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 388 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its stake in Best Buy by 1,200.0% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 416 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Best Buy during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup dropped their price target on Best Buy from $109.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $117.00 price objective on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Best Buy from $111.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Best Buy from $95.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Best Buy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.72.

Best Buy Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:BBY traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $81.91. The company had a trading volume of 2,974,891 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,243,368. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $87.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.15. The company has a market capitalization of $17.51 billion, a PE ratio of 14.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.43. Best Buy has a 52 week low of $69.29 and a 52 week high of $103.71.

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

Best Buy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.59%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.27%.

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.