Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 16,490,000 shares, a growth of 20.4% from the January 31st total of 13,700,000 shares. Approximately 8.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,990,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.5 days.

Best Buy Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE BBY traded down $1.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $77.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 882,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,910,687. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $85.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.43. The stock has a market cap of $16.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 1.00. Best Buy has a 12 month low of $69.29 and a 12 month high of $103.71.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.18. Best Buy had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 45.93%. The business had revenue of $13.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.72 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Best Buy will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. This is an increase from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.91%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is 88.99%.

Insider Activity at Best Buy

In other Best Buy news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 69,166 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.46, for a total transaction of $6,049,258.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 92,070 shares in the company, valued at $8,052,442.20. This trade represents a 42.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.59% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Best Buy

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH boosted its stake in Best Buy by 254.9% during the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 15,349 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $1,317,000 after acquiring an additional 11,024 shares in the last quarter. GHE LLC increased its position in Best Buy by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. GHE LLC now owns 19,163 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $1,644,000 after buying an additional 788 shares in the last quarter. Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. bought a new stake in Best Buy in the fourth quarter worth $731,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Best Buy during the fourth quarter valued at $29,090,000. Finally, Brooklyn FI LLC purchased a new stake in Best Buy during the 4th quarter valued at about $315,000. Institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Best Buy in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Best Buy from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Best Buy from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Best Buy in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Best Buy from $117.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.50.

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.