Citigroup Reiterates Neutral Rating for Best Buy (NYSE:BBY)

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reissued by research analysts at Citigroup in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $70.00 price target on the technology retailer’s stock, down from their prior price target of $93.00. Citigroup’s price target would indicate a potential downside of 7.62% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on BBY. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Best Buy from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Best Buy from $95.00 to $81.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Best Buy from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $92.22.

Best Buy Stock Up 1.9 %

BBY opened at $75.77 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $16.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.95, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $81.98 and its 200 day moving average is $87.76. Best Buy has a fifty-two week low of $67.51 and a fifty-two week high of $103.71.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Corie S. Barry acquired 13,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $72.92 per share, with a total value of $984,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 378,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,620,637.60. This represents a 3.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Todd G. Hartman sold 4,893 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.65, for a total transaction of $355,476.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,320 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,348,048. This trade represents a 13.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 78,355 shares of company stock valued at $5,767,213. 0.59% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Best Buy

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in Best Buy by 4.2% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 7,420 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $766,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 25,735 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $2,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Best Buy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $292,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Best Buy by 25.8% during the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 10,683 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 2,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario raised its stake in Best Buy by 58.0% in the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 6,809 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $703,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. 80.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Best Buy Company Profile

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.