Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) Short Interest Update

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) saw a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 19,181,671 shares, a growth of 20.4% from the December 15th total of 15,930,297 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,388,281 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.4 days. Approximately 9.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Approximately 9.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,388,281 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.4 days.

Insider Activity at Best Buy

In related news, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 374,164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.24, for a total transaction of $31,145,411.36. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 11,786,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $981,141,888.96. This trade represents a 3.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 1,034,993 shares of company stock valued at $86,211,855 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Best Buy

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BBY. Sage Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 3.1% during the third quarter. Sage Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,109 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. LVW Advisors LLC boosted its position in Best Buy by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 3,633 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Best Buy by 69.3% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 337 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank increased its position in Best Buy by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,298 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Best Buy by 1.5% during the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,513 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $639,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. 80.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Best Buy Price Performance

NYSE:BBY traded down $0.47 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $67.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,553,952 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,884,023. Best Buy has a twelve month low of $54.99 and a twelve month high of $91.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.59. The company has a market capitalization of $14.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.41, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Best Buy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 16th. Best Buy’s payout ratio is presently 125.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Best Buy in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Best Buy from $82.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Best Buy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Best Buy from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.37.

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.