Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) Short Interest Up 8.6% in December

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY – Get Rating) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 30th, there was short interest totalling 10,060,000 shares, an increase of 8.6% from the December 15th total of 9,260,000 shares. Approximately 5.1% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,980,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Insider Activity at Best Buy

In related news, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 366,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total transaction of $29,998,234.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 590,148 shares in the company, valued at $48,356,727.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 366,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total value of $29,998,234.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 590,148 shares in the company, valued at $48,356,727.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Damien Harmon sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.99, for a total transaction of $199,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,423,971.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Best Buy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Best Buy in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Clear Street Markets LLC grew its stake in shares of Best Buy by 376.4% in the second quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 424 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Exos TFP Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Best Buy during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management acquired a new stake in Best Buy during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Ellevest Inc. grew its stake in Best Buy by 91.1% during the second quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 472 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. 78.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Best Buy Stock Performance

Shares of BBY traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $84.20. The company had a trading volume of 870,099 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,038,800. The firm has a market cap of $18.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.48. The business has a fifty day moving average of $81.39 and a 200-day moving average of $75.13. Best Buy has a 12 month low of $60.78 and a 12 month high of $112.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 22nd. The technology retailer reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $10.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.30 billion. Best Buy had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 57.26%. The company’s revenue was down 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Best Buy will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 13th were paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 12th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.18%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BBY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Best Buy in a report on Wednesday, October 12th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Bank of America cut shares of Best Buy from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $69.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 14th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Best Buy to $91.00 in a report on Thursday, November 24th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Best Buy to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, November 24th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group assumed coverage on shares of Best Buy in a report on Monday, December 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $90.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.71.

Best Buy Company Profile

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Best Buy Co, Inc retails technology products in the United States and Canada. The company operates in two segments, Domestic and International. Its stores provide computing 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, home theater, portable audio comprising headphones and portable speakers, and smart home products.