Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE:BIG) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $30.92.
A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Big Lots from $34.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. ValuEngine raised Big Lots from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Deutsche Bank upped their target price on Big Lots from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Big Lots in a report on Friday, December 6th.
In other news, Director Marla C. Gottschalk bought 1,850 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $27.06 per share, with a total value of $50,061.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 17,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $479,070.24. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. NumerixS Investment Technologies Inc purchased a new position in Big Lots during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC purchased a new position in Big Lots during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Cerebellum GP LLC purchased a new position in Big Lots during the third quarter worth about $128,000. Macquarie Group Ltd. purchased a new position in Big Lots during the second quarter worth about $157,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its position in Big Lots by 73.6% during the second quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $173,000 after buying an additional 2,559 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.95% of the company’s stock.
BIG stock traded up $0.09 on Friday, reaching $29.17. 4,699 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,147,484. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $25.63 and a 200-day moving average of $23.91. Big Lots has a twelve month low of $18.54 and a twelve month high of $39.53. The firm has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of 7.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06.
Big Lots (NYSE:BIG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, December 6th. The company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of ($0.20) by $0.02. Big Lots had a return on equity of 23.10% and a net margin of 4.83%. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.16) earnings per share. Big Lots’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Big Lots will post 3.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Big Lots’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.70%.
Big Lots Company Profile
Big Lots, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a retailer in the United States. The company offers products under various merchandising categories, such as furniture category that includes upholstery, mattress, case goods, and ready-to-assemble departments; seasonal category, which comprises Christmas trim, lawn and garden, summer, and other holiday departments; soft home category that consists of fashion and utility bedding, bath, window, decorative textile, home organization, area rugs, home décor, and frames departments; and food category that includes beverage and grocery, candy and snacks, and specialty foods departments.
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