Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE:BIG) Receives Average Recommendation of “Strong Sell” from Analysts

Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE:BIG) has received an average recommendation of “Strong Sell” from the five research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and one has given a hold rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $5.25.

Several research firms recently issued reports on BIG. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Big Lots from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of Big Lots from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group cut their target price on shares of Big Lots from $7.00 to $5.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Big Lots

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BIG. Money Concepts Capital Corp raised its stake in shares of Big Lots by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 124,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $635,000 after buying an additional 3,481 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Big Lots by 265.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 210,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,073,000 after buying an additional 152,677 shares in the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Big Lots in the 3rd quarter valued at $95,000. Clifford Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Big Lots by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC now owns 991,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,065,000 after buying an additional 37,310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Big Lots by 549.3% in the 3rd quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 117,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $598,000 after buying an additional 99,011 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.96% of the company’s stock.

Big Lots Price Performance

NYSE BIG opened at $3.61 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.05. The company has a market cap of $106.53 million, a P/E ratio of -0.22 and a beta of 2.33. Big Lots has a 1 year low of $3.13 and a 1 year high of $11.06.

Big Lots (NYSE:BIG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported ($0.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. Big Lots had a negative return on equity of 90.53% and a negative net margin of 10.20%. Big Lots’s quarterly revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.28) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Big Lots will post -10.53 EPS for the current year.

Big Lots Company Profile

Big Lots, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a home discount retailer in the United States. The company offers products under various merchandising categories, such as furniture category that includes upholstery, mattresses, home décor, case goods, and ready-to-assemble departments; seasonal category, which comprises patio furniture, gazebos, Christmas trim, lawn and garden, and other holiday departments; soft home category consists of apparel, hosiery, jewelry; frames, fashion and utility bedding, bath, window, decorative textiles, and area rugs departments; and food category that includes beverages and grocery, specialty foods, and candy and snacks departments.