Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE:BIG) Short Interest Down 6.9% in August

Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE:BIG) was the target of a large drop in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,610,000 shares, a drop of 6.9% from the July 31st total of 7,100,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,020,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days. Approximately 23.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Big Lots Trading Up 7.6 %

Shares of BIG stock traded up $0.04 on Tuesday, reaching $0.59. 251,503 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,715,955. The stock has a market cap of $17.44 million, a P/E ratio of -0.03 and a beta of 2.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.78. Big Lots has a 1-year low of $0.51 and a 1-year high of $8.41.

Big Lots (NYSE:BIG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 6th. The company reported ($4.51) earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($3.40) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Big Lots will post -11.84 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BIG. Loop Capital raised shares of 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Big Lots from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on shares of Big Lots from $2.50 to $1.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Big Lots has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $2.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Big Lots

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

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.