Shares of Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE: BIG) sold by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. reduced its holdings of Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE: BIG – Get Rating) stock by 21.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its latest disclosure to the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund held 17,236 shares of the company after selling 4,751 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned approximately 0.06% of Big Lots worth $596,000 when last filed with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also changed their positions in the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Big Lots during the fourth quarter at a value of $11,993,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Big Lots by 113.4% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 104,204 shares in the company valued at $4,696,000 after acquiring a further 55,379 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Big Lots by 11.1% in the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 6,988 shares of the company valued at $2,378,000 after acquiring 696 additional shares in the last quarter. Connectus Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Big Lots in the fourth quarter worth $818,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in Big Lots by 31.4% in the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 13,397 shares of the company valued at $463,000 after acquiring 3,205 additional shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.42% of the company’s shares.

Wall Street analysts predict growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company recently. Goldman Sachs Group cut its price target on the big lots from $36.00 to $25.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a Tuesday, June 7 report. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced its target price on jackpots from $31.00 to $23.00 in a Tuesday, May 31 report. Loop Capital cut its jackpot price target from $27.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a Tuesday, June 21 research report. Bank of America cut its price target on the big lots from $31.00 to $25.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a Tuesday, May 24 research report. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reduced its price target on the big lots from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “market performance” rating on the stock in a Tuesday, May 31 research report. Four analysts gave the stock a sell rating and five gave the company a hold rating. According to MarketBeat.com, Big Lots currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.63.

Jackpot inventory down 8.6%

Shares of NYSE BIG opened at $24.04 on Friday. Big Lots, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.16 and a 1-year high of $58.67. The company has a market capitalization of $695.24 million, a price/earnings ratio of 10.98 and a beta of 1.97. The company has a debt ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a current ratio of 1.52. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.78.

Big Lots (NYSE:BIG – Get Rating) last announced its results on Friday, May 27. The company reported ($0.39) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analyst consensus estimates of $0.89 per ($1.28). The company posted revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, versus $1.46 billion expected by analysts. Big Lots had a return on equity of 7.25% and a net margin of 1.22%. The company’s revenues were down 15.4% from the same quarter last year. In the same period a year earlier, the company posted earnings per share of $2.62. As a group, stock analysts expect Big Lots, Inc. to post earnings per share of -2.34 for the current fiscal year.

Big Lots Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 24. Investors of record on Friday, June 10 received a dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 9. This represents a dividend of $1.20 on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.99%. The dividend payout ratio (DPR) of Big Lots is 54.79%.

Big Lots Company Profile

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Big Lots, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a discount door-to-door retailer in the United States. The Company offers products in various merchandising categories, such as the furniture category which includes upholstery, mattresses, crate items and ready-to-assemble departments; the seasonal category, which includes patio furniture, gazebos, Christmas trim and other holiday departments; the soft home category which includes the departments of fashion and utility bedding, bathroom, windows, decorative textiles, home organization, area rugs, home decor and picture frames; and the food category which includes beverages and groceries, candies and snacks, specialty foods and pet departments.

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