Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) Given New $80.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) had its price target raised by Morgan Stanley from $72.00 to $80.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the technology retailer’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Best Buy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Best Buy from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $59.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, April 13th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $68.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Best Buy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.60.

Best Buy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BBY opened at $78.16 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.47, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.22. Best Buy has a 12 month low of $55.10 and a 12 month high of $84.99. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The technology retailer reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $8.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.82 billion. Best Buy had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 48.70%. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. Best Buy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.300-6.600 EPS. Analysts expect that Best Buy will post 6.5 EPS for the current year.

Best Buy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 18th. Best Buy’s payout ratio is currently 76.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Best Buy

In other news, EVP Jason J. Bonfig sold 6,336 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.02, for a total transaction of $405,630.72. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 79,137 shares in the company, valued at $5,066,350.74. The trade was a 7.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd G. Hartman sold 5,339 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.02, for a total value of $341,802.78. Following the transaction, the insider owned 44,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,823,153.96. This represents a 10.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 77,247 shares of company stock worth $4,945,353. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Best Buy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BBY. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Best Buy by 99.8% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,997,871 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $525,120,000 after buying an additional 3,496,254 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Best Buy in the 4th quarter valued at about $174,685,000. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in Best Buy by 378.8% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 3,096,015 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $207,216,000 after buying an additional 2,449,342 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Best Buy by 104.1% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,020,539 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $135,685,000 after buying an additional 1,030,544 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Best Buy by 293.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,052,805 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $70,464,000 after buying an additional 785,294 shares during the period. 80.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Best Buy News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Best Buy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Best Buy reported Q1 adjusted EPS of $1.28, above estimates of $1.22, and revenue of $8.94 billion, also ahead of forecasts, with comparable sales rising 2.0%. Best Buy Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates, Comparable Sales Rise 2%
• Positive Sentiment: The company reaffirmed its full-year guidance and highlighted improving margins and stronger demand in gaming, computing, and cellphones, suggesting the turnaround is gaining traction. Best Buy Reports First Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Several analyst firms raised price targets after the earnings release, including Jefferies, Loop Capital, Guggenheim, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, and others, indicating improving sentiment around the stock. Analyst rating updates
• Positive Sentiment: Retail-industry news also pointed to selective consumer spending still favoring value-focused names like Best Buy, adding to the rally. Retail Rally Sends Kohl’s, Best Buy, Dollar Tree Up As Much As 18%
• Neutral Sentiment: DA Davidson reaffirmed its buy rating but set a $78 price target, which is roughly in line with the current share price and does not materially change the valuation debate. DA Davidson rating reaffirmation
• Neutral Sentiment: Best Buy also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.96 per share, reinforcing its income appeal for investors. Dividend announcement

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.