Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY) To Go Ex-Dividend on December 17th

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, November 26th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a dividend of 0.94 per share by the technology retailer on Tuesday, January 7th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th.

Best Buy has raised its dividend payment by an average of 18.7% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 21 consecutive years. Best Buy has a dividend payout ratio of 56.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Best Buy to earn $6.67 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 56.4%.

Best Buy Stock Performance

NYSE BBY opened at $87.60 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $91.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.41. The company has a market capitalization of $18.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.97, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.44. Best Buy has a 1-year low of $69.29 and a 1-year 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.

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

Insider Activity at Best Buy

In other news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 69,166 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.46, for a total value of $6,049,258.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 92,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,052,442.20. This trade represents a 42.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.59% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Best Buy from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. Wedbush increased their target price on Best Buy from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Best Buy from $123.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.06.

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.