Evercore ISI Cuts Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) Price Target to $80.00

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) had its target price lowered by Evercore ISI from $95.00 to $80.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an in-line rating on the technology retailer’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on BBY. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group decreased 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 note on Wednesday. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $105.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Best Buy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.50.

Best Buy Price Performance

Shares of BBY opened at $79.66 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $85.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.39. The company has a market capitalization of $17.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.62, 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 fifty-two week low of $69.29 and a fifty-two week high of $103.71.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.72 EPS. Research analysts predict that Best Buy will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This is an increase from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.77%. Best Buy’s payout ratio is currently 88.99%.

Insider Activity

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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.59% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Best Buy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Best Buy by 971.9% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 343 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Best Buy during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Best Buy during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Best Buy by 186.9% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 373 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Best Buy by 18,700.0% during the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 376 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.