Best Buy Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:BBY)

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Traders bought 46,788 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 249% compared to the typical daily volume of 13,422 call options.

Insider Activity at Best Buy

In related news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 69,166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.46, for a total value of $6,049,258.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 92,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,052,442.20. This represents a 42.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.59% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,281 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $855,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its stake in Best Buy by 1.2% in the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 9,454 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $977,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Best Buy by 4.6% in the third quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,675 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Tobam grew its position in Best Buy by 15.6% in the second quarter. Tobam now owns 895 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hoxton Planning & Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Best Buy by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 3,481 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:BBY opened at $88.58 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $18.94 billion, a PE ratio of 15.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.44. Best Buy has a fifty-two week low of $69.29 and a fifty-two week high of $103.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $91.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.59.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 26th. The technology retailer reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.04). Best Buy had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 45.93%. The company had revenue of $9.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.63 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Best Buy will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.24%. Best Buy’s payout ratio is 64.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Best Buy from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Citigroup cut their target price on Best Buy from $109.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Best Buy from $95.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price objective on Best Buy from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Best Buy from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.06.

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.