Best Buy (BBY) to gain from Circuit City's pain

Best Buy, Inc. (NYSE: BBY) is probably skipping down the street with joy about now. Not only is its largest competitor, Circuit City Stores, Inc. (NYSE: CC) closing stores and laying off thousands, but another competitor is seeing hard times as well. Tweeter Home Entertainment Group is also closing stores. In this economic environment, Best Buy has set itself up to be one of the beneficiaries of whatever retailer dollars remain left in consumer wallets.

Analyst Mitchell Kaiser Sr. with Piper Jaffray indicated yesterday that Best Buy could gobble up 30% of the $2 billion market share that will be left on the table after Circuit City closes 155 stores by next year. Do you agree? From what I have seen, Best Buy has been every bit as aggressive as fellow retailer Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) in low pricing in many consumer electronics categories. And there we have it: Best Buy and Wal-Mart will be the future kings of retailer consumer electronics.

Is now the time to pick up BBY shares? The retailer's share price stands at just over $27 per share, with bullish earnings projections being thrown about by many analysts for 2009. It's down from over $50 per share at the start of 2008 as it joined the overall market in a slump the last few months. Fundamentally, though, the company it hitting on all cylinders. So perhaps it's a good time to pad your portfolio with BBY.

Disclosure: The author does not hold any shares of BBY.