Piper Jaffray Reiterates Overweight Rating and Price Target for Big Lots

One day before Big Lots, Inc. BIG releases its first quarter earnings, Piper Jaffray reiterated its Overweight rating and $41 price target. Although BIG issued a guidance with EPS of $0.60-$0.65, Piper believes they will in fact come in at $0.66, against a consensus of $0.67. BIG's earnings are driven by strength in home and seasonal products given the warmer than average weather throughout most of" the first quarter. The analysts believe that "BIG is well-positioned for the economic recovery with its high mix of discretionary products." Piper also expects BIG to outperform is guidance of $2.65-$2.75 EPS for all of 2010, issuing an estimate of $2.81 against a street consensus of $2.80. With BIG trading at $36.31, it has some room for a nice return before it reaches Piper's $41 price target.