Equitable Trust Co. Buys 5,195 Shares of Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE:BIG)

Equitable Trust Co. grew its stake in Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE:BIG) by 24.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,373 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,195 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co. owned approximately 0.09% of Big Lots worth $233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in Big Lots by 1.3% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,925,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,891,000 after buying an additional 64,279 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Big Lots by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,247,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,691,000 after acquiring an additional 37,361 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Big Lots by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,923,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,552,000 after purchasing an additional 126,412 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Big Lots by 15.9% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,649,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,082,000 after purchasing an additional 226,109 shares during the period. Finally, Clifford Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Big Lots by 34.0% during the 1st quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC now owns 797,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,740,000 after purchasing an additional 202,356 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BIG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Big Lots from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 16th. Credit Suisse Group restated an “underperform” rating and set a $6.00 price objective on shares of Big Lots in a report on Wednesday, August 30th. Loop Capital increased their target price on Big Lots from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Big Lots from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on shares of Big Lots from $6.00 to $8.50 in a report on Wednesday, August 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $6.42.

Big Lots Stock Up 10.9 %

Shares of BIG stock opened at $3.98 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. Big Lots, Inc. has a twelve month low of $3.47 and a twelve month high of $20.91. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.91.

Big Lots (NYSE:BIG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 29th. The company reported ($3.24) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($4.11) by $0.87. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. Big Lots had a negative net margin of 11.40% and a negative return on equity of 47.91%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($2.28) earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Big Lots, Inc. will post -11.29 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, 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.