Big Lots (NYSE:BIG) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Big Lots (NYSE:BIG) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Friday.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on BIG. Loop Capital raised Big Lots from a sell rating to a hold rating and set a $1.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target on Big Lots from $2.50 to $1.50 and set a market perform rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Big Lots currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $3.20.

Big Lots Stock Performance

NYSE BIG opened at $1.02 on Friday. Big Lots has a 1-year low of $0.86 and a 1-year high of $8.41. The company has a market capitalization of $30.28 million, a P/E ratio of -0.06 and a beta of 2.23. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $1.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

Big Lots (NYSE:BIG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 6th. The company reported ($4.51) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($4.23) by ($0.28). Big Lots had a negative net margin of 10.44% and a negative return on equity of 147.35%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($3.40) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Big Lots will post -11.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Big Lots

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in Big Lots in the second quarter valued at $269,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Big Lots by 1,132.9% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 200,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 184,660 shares during the last quarter. Ground Swell Capital LLC acquired a new position in Big Lots in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Big Lots by 46.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 37,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 11,915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Big Lots by 3.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,598,679 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,922,000 after purchasing an additional 56,540 shares during the last quarter. 75.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Big Lots

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.