Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on BBY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Best Buy from $97.00 to $99.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Best Buy from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Best Buy from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Best Buy in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Best Buy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.89.

Best Buy Trading Down 1.7%

Best Buy stock opened at $70.61 on Friday. Best Buy has a 52-week low of $54.99 and a 52-week high of $91.68. The company has a market cap of $14.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.61.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 25th. The technology retailer reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $9.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.57 billion. Best Buy had a net margin of 1.54% and a return on equity of 50.02%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. Best Buy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.250-6.350 EPS. Analysts predict that Best Buy will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Best Buy news, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 74,553 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.31, for a total value of $6,285,563.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 11,451,911 shares in the company, valued at $965,510,616.41. This represents a 0.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 1,534,993 shares of company stock worth $126,626,855 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Best Buy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Clear Trail Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Best Buy during the fourth quarter worth $2,298,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Best Buy by 223.0% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 64,445 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $4,313,000 after purchasing an additional 44,494 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 1,731.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 270,097 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $18,078,000 after purchasing an additional 255,349 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in shares of Best Buy by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 2,048 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 37.4% in the fourth quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 29,281 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $2,051,000 after purchasing an additional 7,963 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

About Best Buy

Best Buy Co, Inc is a leading North American consumer electronics retailer that sells a broad range of products including computers, mobile phones, televisions and home theater systems, major appliances, smart-home devices, gaming hardware and software, wearables and related accessories. The company operates through a mix of large-format stores, smaller specialty locations and an e-commerce platform, offering national and private-brand merchandise from major consumer-technology manufacturers as well as third-party sellers.

Beyond product retailing, Best Buy provides a suite of services aimed at installation, repair and ongoing technical support.