Piper Jaffray Reports on Big Lots

Piper Jaffray commented on Big Lots BIG in a report released today. In the report, Piper Jaffray was mixed in its assessment of the company. Piper Jaffray writes, "We are maintaining our Neutral rating and lowering our PT to $36 from $37 following BIG's Q1 earnings call. While we are encouraged by progress in consumables, we remain concerned that Q2 gross margin will be pressured due to markdowns on seasonal products and persistently high transportation costs. While management guided the full year EPS estimate down ~$0.27 at the mid-point, we point out that guidance does not include stock repurchases. Therefore, we believe there could be upside to our current F11E EPS based on the potential for better sales trends in the 2H and flexibility to repurchase shares under the $458M authorization." Piper Jaffray currently has a Neutral rating on Big Lots and a price target of $36. Shares of BIG closed at $31.44 on Thursday, up from $31.08 at the opening bell.