Best Buy Co's (BBY.N) board raised its quarterly dividend by 7 percent to 16 cents a share and approved a plan to purchase back $5 billion of common stock, sending its shares up 3 percent. The increase in the dividend takes effect with the Oct. 25 payout to shareholders of record Oct. 4, the world's largest consumer electronics chain said in a statement on Tuesday. Sales at Best Buy stores open at least 14 months have fallen consistently in the past four quarters, but some investors still prefer the company for its steady cashflow and its ability to stay profitable and pay dividends. (For a related BUY/SELL column, click.) "While the sales environment remains challenging, we believe the company is taking the appropriate steps to adapt and may be better positioned than the stock is getting credit for," Credit Suisse analyst Gary Balter noted.
Best Buy Co., Inc. is a multinational retailer of consumer electronics, home office products, entertainment software, appliances and related services. Shares of BBY traded higher by 2.79% or $0.88/share to $32.42. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $28.09 and as high as $45.63. On average, 8596160 shares of BBY exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 5873520.
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