Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $75.73, but opened at $66.30. Best Buy shares last traded at $63.79, with a volume of 1,537,730 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BBY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Best Buy from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Best Buy from $106.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $81.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on Best Buy from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $102.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $92.22.

Best Buy Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $81.02 and a 200-day moving average of $87.32. 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 has a market capitalization of $12.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.42.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $13.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.69 billion. Best Buy had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 45.93%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.72 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.30%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This is a boost from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Best Buy’s payout ratio is 88.99%.

Insider Activity at Best Buy

In related news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 51,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.20, for a total transaction of $3,784,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 55,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,144,515.20. This trade represents a 47.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Mathew Watson sold 3,182 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total transaction of $226,844.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 19,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,370,051.22. This represents a 14.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 78,355 shares of company stock valued at $5,767,213. Corporate insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Best Buy

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Best Buy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Best Buy in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Best Buy by 18,700.0% in the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 376 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the period. 80.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.