Big Lots (NYSE:BIG) Upgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

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

BIG has been the subject of several other reports. Loop Capital downgraded Big Lots from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Telsey Advisory Group decreased 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 report on Tuesday, February 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Reduce and a consensus price target of $5.25.

Big Lots Stock Performance

BIG stock opened at $3.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $4.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.08. The company has a market capitalization of $107.97 million, a P/E ratio of -0.22 and a beta of 2.30. Big Lots has a 1-year low of $3.13 and a 1-year high of $11.06.

Big Lots (NYSE:BIG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported ($0.28) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. Big Lots had a negative net margin of 10.20% and a negative return on equity of 90.53%. The business’s revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.28) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Big Lots will post -10.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Big Lots

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Big Lots in the fourth quarter worth $245,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Big Lots by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,542,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,013,000 after buying an additional 10,702 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Big Lots in the fourth quarter worth about $400,000. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP lifted its stake in shares of Big Lots by 470.8% in the fourth quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP now owns 89,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $698,000 after buying an additional 73,886 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scion Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Big Lots in the fourth quarter worth about $1,753,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.96% of the company’s stock.

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, case goods, and ready-to-assemble departments; seasonal category, which comprises patio furniture, gazebos, Christmas trim, and other holiday departments; soft home category that consists of home décor, frames, fashion and utility bedding, bath, window, decorative textile, and area rugs departments; and food category that includes beverage and grocery, specialty foods, and pet departments.