Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE:BIG) will announce its first-quarter, 2014 financial results on Friday, May 30, 2014 prior to the market open. On the same day, executives will discuss the financial results on a conference call at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time.
Wall Street anticipates that the wholesale retailer will earn $0.44 per share for the quarter, which is $0.17 less than last year's profit of $0.61 per share. iStock expects BIG to hit Wall Street's consensus number, the iEstimate is $0.44, but maybe, just maybe there could be some upside. From a retailer? Read on…
Sales, like earnings, are expected to decrease, slipping a mere 3.6% year-over-year (YoY). Big Lots' consensus revenue estimate for Q1 is $1.26 billion, which is less than last year's $13.31 billion.
[Related -Stock Upgrades And Downgrades: BIG, CLH, DGI, DVA, PETM, SD, SCTY]
Big Lots operates as a broadline closeout retailer in the United States. The company offers products under various merchandising categories. As of March 7, 2014, it operated 1,495 BIG LOTS stores in 48 states.
BIG's history is one of bullish surprises as the retailer topped earnings 11 of the last 16 quarters. On average, the discount retailer earned almost 15% more than the consensus estimate, ranging from 1.16% to 58.33% more than projected.
On four occasions, the bottom line fell short of the street's mark, missing by $0.01 twice, $0.04 and $0.05. That leaves one on-target result, like the iEstimate's forecast for Friday morning.
[Related -Stocks End Modestly Higher Amid Jobs Data, Beige Book; Staples (SPLS) Drops]
According to Track Data, June call option implied volatility for BIG points to a large price movement for shares as a result of earnings.
In the past four years, EPS-driven price-sensitivity was bullish in the days surrounding 10 of the last 16 quarterly checkups. Typically, BIG's stock price advanced 5.65% in the three days booking ending profit report card.
Unfortunately, more often than not, the May release didn't join in fun as the emerald month accounted for three of the five red reactions. BIG experienced losses of -0.90%, -3.40%, and -13.3% for three of the last four Q1 announcements.
Maybe, just maybe, Big Lots is about to buck the May trend and make winners out of the call option players. The Polar Vortex claimed a lot of retail victims in the first part of 2014, but BIG might be an exception to another rule.
Google Trends Search Volume Intensity (SVI) shows an increase for the keyword "Big Lots." SVI rose 4.26% YoY. It's a small gain but remember, revenue is expected to fall 3.6%. If Google Trends translate, then sales just might surprise to the upside for BIG.
Perhaps, the potential for sales to bypass the consensus is why a quartet of research firms recently upped their price-targets for Big Lots in the last month?
Deutsche Bank from $40.00 to $42.00 JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $42.00 to $45.00 KeyCorp to $47.00 MKM Partners from $41.00 to $47.00
Overall: Bullish sentiment among brokers, the iEstimate, Google Trends, and Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE:BIG) history, Q1 notwithstanding, suggest a bullish surprise could be on the way, which could push BIG shares to end the week.
No comments:
Post a Comment