Tag Archives: Big Lots

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Griffen Upgrade Gives Big Lots Stock Wings

Leave a comment

By Rich Smith, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Shares of closeout retailer Big Lots are flying 3.5% higher in midday trading. And yet, so far as I can tell, the only reasons for the surge are an analyst upgrade to “buy” and a price target higher than what the shares fetch now.

Actually, make that an ill-considered upgrade to buy from an analyst you’ve probably never heard of before and a price target far higher than what the shares are worth.

Let’s tackle those issues one at a time. If I told you that some guy you’d never heard of before thought you (not he) should buy shares of Big Lots, would you give that recommendation much weight? Then call me a skeptic, but I’m not sure an upgrade to “buy” from an analyst called Griffen Securities (the name cited in an upgrade report on flyonthewall.com today) deserves any particular weight, either.

Now for the price target. Big Lots costs $35 and change today, so a move to $45 suggests the potential for a 27% profit in the stock. I can see how that would grab investors’ attention, sure. But that doesn’t mean the target is realistic.

Consider: Priced at 12 times earnings, Big Lots‘ valuation already looks like a bit of a stretch relative to the 10% long-term growth estimates Wall Street analysts have assigned it. When you notice further that based on its cash flow statements, Big Lots is currently only generating about $0.85 in real cash profit for every $1 it claims to be “earning” under GAAP, the magnitude of the overvaluation only grows. And none of this is even factoring Big Lots‘ $110 million net debt load into the equation. With that number added in, I get an enterprise-value-to-free-cash-flow ratio of 14 — which is still only growing at 10% a year.

Foolish takeaway
I won’t say Big Lots is the most overpriced stock on the market today, but 14 times free cash flow is hardly a cheap price to pay for a mere 10% grower. Therefore, even if you think the stock can hold on to its current valuation, it’s hard to make a strong argument for (over)paying even more for the stock in 12 months’ time.

Long story short: Griffen Securities‘ buy rating on Big Lots doesn’t look much more realistic than the winged, eagle-headed lion of lore.

More Foolish insight
The retail space is in the midst of the biggest paradigm shift since mail order took off at the turn of last century. Only the most forward-looking and capable companies will survive, and they’ll handsomely reward those investors who understand the landscape. You can read about the “3 Companies Ready to Rule Retail” in The Motley Fool’s special report. Uncovering these top picks is free today; just click here to read more.

The article Griffen Upgrade Gives Big Lots Stock Wings originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Rich Smith has no position …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Why Big Lots Shares Bounced

Leave a comment

By Demitrios Kalogeropoulos, The Motley Fool

BIG Gross Profit Margin Quarterly Chart

Filed under:

Big Lots has had a big 2013.

The closeout merchandise retailer’s stock is up more than 20% so far this year, trouncing the market‘s 8% rise. And the latest bump came after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings that were better than expected.

Here are three key highlights from the report:

Mixed profitability: Big Lots beat analysts’ expectations for $1.99 per share in earnings on the quarter. Instead, the company managed to book $2.09 in profits, which was a 19%jump over last year’s tally. Comparable sales fell by 3.5%in the U.S., but a bigger store base helped push total revenue up by 4.4%.

Still, gross margin dove to 39.6% of sales, which was the lowest quarterly figure the company has reported in years.

BIG Gross Profit Margin Quarterly data by YCharts

Canadian kicker
For the first time since acquiring its Canadian business in 2011, that unit wasn’t a drag on Big Lots‘ earnings. Canadian operations actually kicked in $0.2 millionin net income for the quarter. Sure, that’s not enough to even add $0.01 to the company’s per-share profits. But it was much better than the $0.08 loss from last year’s results.

Just don’t plan on that division powering more profits in the near-term, though. Big Lots expects Canada to lose money again in 2013, on the order of between $0.05 and $0.10 a share.

Solid outlook
Investors were probably the most relieved to see the company’s updated outlook. Big Lots expects adjusted earnings this year to come in at about $3.15 a share, or 5% better than the $2.99 comparable figure from 2012. Sales are expected to rise by 2% to 3%, or just a bit slower than this year.

If Big Lots can deliver steady sales growth like that, the company should keep earning its way off the discount rack. Valuing shares at less than 14 times trailing earnings — even after the big run-up — the market has been too pessimistic about Big Lot‘s future. The company may have profitability concerns to deal with, but its growth looks set to continue.

The next big idea

The retail space is in the midst of the biggest paradigm shift since mail order took off at the turn of last century. Only those most forward-looking and capable companies will survive, and they’ll handsomely reward those investors who understand the landscape. You can read about the 3 Companies Ready to Rule Retail in The Motley Fool’s special report. Uncovering these top picks is free today; just click here to read more.

The article Why Big Lots Shares Bounced originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Demitrios Kalogeropoulos has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Big Lots. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Dow Poised for New Highs as Staples and Big Lots Beat the Street

Leave a comment

By Roland Head, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

LONDON — Stock index futures at 7 a.m. EST indicate that the Dow Jones Industrial Average may continue its record-breaking run and open up by 0.31% this morning, while the S&P 500 may open 0.34% higher. Yesterday’s all-time high helped drive a big improvement in sentiment, and the CNN Fear & Greed Index swung higher to close at 71, up from a previous close of 60.

Today’s economic reports begin at 8:15 a.m. EST with the latest ADP employment figures, which are expected to show that 175,000 new private-sector jobs were created in February, down from 192,000 in January. At 10 a.m. EST, January’s factory-order data is expected to show a 2.2% fall in orders during the first month of 2013 following a 1.8% increase in December 2012. Finally, at 2 p.m. EST, the latest Federal Reserve Beige Book will provide further insight into the state of the economy.

In an earnings release this morning, Staples beat analysts’ expectations with adjusted Q4 earnings of $0.46 per share, ahead of consensus forecast for $0.45. The office supplies company also announced a 9% increase to its quarterly dividend. However, including one-time charges, Staples earned just $0.12 per share, and the company gave downbeat guidance for 2013. Shares are down 5.2% in premarket trading.

Big Lots also beat expectations, reporting fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of $2.09, ahead of consensus estimates of $1.99 per share. Other companies expected to release quarterly earnings before the markets open this morning include American Eagle Outfitters, Fresh Market, and Hovnanian Enterprises, while PetSmart is due to report earnings after the closing bell tonight.

European markets
Most markets were broadly unchanged in Europe this morning as investors took stock of recent gains and awaited further developments in Europe — particularly in Italy, where a new government has still not been formed following the country’s recent elections.

At 7:30 a.m. EST, the DAX was up 1%, the CAC 40 was up 0.15%, the FTSE MIB was up 0.1%, and the IBEX 35 was up 0.34%. In London, the FTSE 100 was up 0.28%, led by telecom heavyweight Vodafone , which surged 6.8% higher after Bloomberg reported last night that the firm has been in discussions with Verizon over a possible merger. The report suggested that merger discussions had failed, leaving a sale to Verizon of Vodafone’s 45% stake in Verizon Wireless as a more likely option.

If you’re looking for shares that can outperform the wider market, you need to look beyond the news headlines. This free Motley Fool report, “The Top Growth Share For 2013,” highlights a share that gained 38% in 2012, during which time the wider market rose just 6%. The company is a household name, and its earnings per share have risen by 44% since 2009 — so click here now to download your free copy of this report while it is still available.

The article Dow Poised for New …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Results Good at Big Lots; Forecast Not So Good

Leave a comment

By 24/7 Wall St.

131772836

Filed under: , ,

Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2012 results before markets opened this morning.

The close-out retailer reported quarterly diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.08 on revenues of $1.7 billion. In the same period a year ago, Big Lots reported EPS of $1.83 on revenue of $1.63 billion. Fourth-quarter results also compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for EPS of $1.98 and $1.75 billion in revenue.

For the full fiscal year, Big Lots posted adjusted EPS of $2.99 on revenues of $5.4 billion. The consensus estimates called for EPS of $2.90 on revenues of $5.4 billion.

For the new fiscal year, the company forecasts adjusted EPS of $3.05 to $3.25 on a sales increase of 2% to 3%. For the first quarter Big Lots expects adjusted EPS of $0.53 to $0.65 on revenue growth of 1% to 3% year-over-year. The consensus estimate for the full year calls for EPS of $3.16 on revenues of $5.56 billion. For the first quarter, the consensus estimate calls for EPS of $0.75 on revenues of $1.33 billion.

In the fourth quarter, U.S. same-store sales fell 3.5%. The company’s Canadian division only broke even in the quarter, which was still better than the $11.4 million loss the division posted in the third quarter.

Big Lots, unlike competitors Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE: FDO) or Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR), depends on traffic to make sales. Declining same-store sales are not a good sign, but today’s results will give the stock a temporary boost. Eventually investors will notice that first quarter guidance is well below the consensus estimate.

Shares are up 3.7% in premarket trading this morning, at $35.15, in a 52-week range of $26.69 to $47.22. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $34.40 before today’s results were announced.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Earnings, Retail, Services Tagged: BIG, DLTR, FDO

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Hill-Rom Holdings Larger Than S&P 500 Component Big Lots

Leave a comment

By DividendChannel.com

In the latest look at stocks ordered by largest market capitalization, Russell 3000 component Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: HRC) was identified as having a larger market cap than the smaller end of the S&P 500, for example Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE: BIG), according to The Online Investor. Click here to find out the top S&P 500 components ordered by average analyst rating » …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Markets

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Lancaster Colony Corp. Larger Than S&P 500 Component Big Lots

Leave a comment

By DividendChannel.com

In the latest look at stocks ordered by largest market capitalization, Russell 3000 component Lancaster Colony Corp. (NASD: LANC) was identified as having a larger market cap than the smaller end of the S&P 500, for example Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE: BIG), according to The Online Investor. Click here to find out the top S&P 500 components ordered by average analyst rating » …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Markets

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Coeur d'Alene Mines Moves Up In Market Cap Rank, Passing Big Lots

Leave a comment

By DividendChannel.com

In the latest look at stocks ordered by largest market capitalization, Russell 3000 component Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp (NYSE: CDE) was identified as having a larger market cap than the smaller end of the S&P 500, for example Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE: BIG), according to The Online Investor. Click here to find out the top S&P 500 components ordered by average analyst rating » …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Markets

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Vail Resorts Moves Up In Market Cap Rank, Passing Big Lots

Leave a comment

By DividendChannel.com In the latest look at stocks ordered by largest market capitalization, Russell 3000 component Vail Resorts Inc. (NYSE: MTN) was identified as having a larger market cap than the smaller end of the S&P 500, for example Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE: BIG), according to The Online Investor. Click here to find out the top S&P 500 components ordered by average analyst rating »
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Markets

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Lender Processing Services Moves Up In Market Cap Rank, Passing Big Lots

Leave a comment

By DividendChannel.com In the latest look at stocks ordered by largest market capitalization, Russell 3000 component Lender Processing Services Inc (NYSE: LPS) was identified as having a larger market cap than the smaller end of the S&P 500, for example Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE: BIG), according to The Online Investor. Click here to find out the top S&P 500 components ordered by average analyst rating »
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Markets

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Opko Health Moves Up In Market Cap Rank, Passing Big Lots

Leave a comment

By DividendChannel.com In the latest look at stocks ordered by largest market capitalization, Russell 3000 component Opko Health Inc (NYSE: OPK) was identified as having a larger market cap than the smaller end of the S&P 500, for example Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE: BIG), according to The Online Investor. Click here to find out the top S&P 500 components ordered by average analyst rating »
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Markets