Piper Sandler Lowers Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) Price Target to $92.00

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) had its target price reduced by Piper Sandler from $102.00 to $92.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the technology retailer’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on BBY. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their target price on shares of Best Buy from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays decreased 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 report on Thursday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Best Buy in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Best Buy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.50.

Best Buy Price Performance

Shares of BBY opened at $75.36 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $85.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Best Buy has a twelve month low of $69.29 and a twelve month high of $103.71. The company has a market cap of $16.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.18. Best Buy had a return on equity of 45.93% and a net margin of 3.01%. The firm had revenue of $13.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.72 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Best Buy will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This is an increase from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.04%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is 88.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Best Buy

In other news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 69,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 92,070 shares in the company, valued at $8,052,442.20. This trade represents a 42.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.59% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Best Buy

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Best Buy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $514,483,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Best Buy in the 4th quarter worth $178,015,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Best Buy by 31.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,942,832 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $252,495,000 after acquiring an additional 701,287 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Best Buy by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,692,118 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $316,784,000 after purchasing an additional 629,180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Best Buy by 101.4% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,114,928 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $95,661,000 after purchasing an additional 561,413 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

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.