Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) Short Interest Up 8.1% in April

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,910,000 shares, an increase of 8.1% from the March 31st total of 14,720,000 shares. Approximately 8.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 3,100,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.1 days.

Best Buy Stock Performance

Shares of BBY opened at $72.02 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 1.00. Best Buy has a 52 week low of $62.30 and a 52 week high of $86.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $78.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.21.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The technology retailer reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.21. Best Buy had a return on equity of 48.45% and a net margin of 2.86%. The business had revenue of $14.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.58 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.61 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Best Buy will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.22%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on BBY shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Best Buy from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Truist Financial increased their price target on Best Buy from $68.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. TheStreet upgraded shares of Best Buy from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Telsey Advisory Group raised shares of Best Buy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Best Buy from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Best Buy news, CEO Corie S. Barry sold 366 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.76, for a total transaction of $27,728.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 431,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,670,060.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CAO Mathew Watson sold 2,505 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.80, for a total value of $204,909.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,097,188.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Corie S. Barry sold 366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.76, for a total transaction of $27,728.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 431,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,670,060.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,023 shares of company stock valued at $4,253,900 over the last 90 days. 0.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Best Buy

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Best Buy by 549.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 357 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC purchased a new stake in Best Buy during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC raised its position in Best Buy by 69.5% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 322 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new position in Best Buy in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Best Buy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 80.96% of the stock is currently owned by 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.