Financial Comparison: Big Lots (BIG) vs. Family Dollar Stores (FDO)

Big Lots (NYSE: BIG) and Family Dollar Stores (NYSE:FDO) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation and earnings.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Big Lots and Family Dollar Stores’ gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	EBITDA	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Big Lots	$5.18 billion	0.42	$368.08 million	$3.67	13.38
Family Dollar Stores	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Big Lots has higher revenue and earnings than Family Dollar Stores.

Profitability

This table compares Big Lots and Family Dollar Stores’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Big Lots	3.20%	29.88%	10.71%
Family Dollar Stores	2.93%	17.69%	8.08%

Dividends

Big Lots pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Family Dollar Stores does not pay a dividend. Big Lots pays out 27.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Family Dollar Stores has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Big Lots and Family Dollar Stores, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Big Lots	0	3	7	1	2.82
Family Dollar Stores	0	0	0	0	N/A

Big Lots presently has a consensus price target of $58.20, suggesting a potential upside of 18.56%. Given Big Lots’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Big Lots is more favorable than Family Dollar Stores.

Summary

Big Lots beats Family Dollar Stores on 8 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

Big Lots Company Profile

Big Lots, Inc. is a non-traditional, discount retailer operating in the United States. As of January 28, 2017, the Company operated a total of 1,432 stores. The Company operates through the discount retailing segment. As of January 28, 2017, the Company’s stores are located at various states of the United States, such as Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Washington. The Company’s merchandise categories include Furniture, Seasonal, Soft Home, Food, Consumables, Hard Home, and Electronics, Toys, & Accessories.

Family Dollar Stores Company Profile

Family Dollar Stores, Inc. operates a chain of retail stores. The Company offers a range of merchandise for the whole family, ranging from household cleaners to name brand foods, from health and beauty aids to toys, and from apparel for every age to home fashions. The Company has approximately 10 distribution centers for its supply chain management. The Company has over 8,000 stores within its approximately 50 state operating area. The Company’s subsidiary, Family Dollar Trucking, Inc., services Family Dollar Stores located in southeastern states with localized operations at the corporate fleet offices. The Company offers various categories of products, such as food and beverages, household products, family apparel, personal beauty and care, pet supplies, home decor, electronics, baby care, automotive, hardware, health and wellness, mobile phones, candy, toys and outdoor. The Company’s other product categories include Halloween, Game Day, Holiday, Valentine’s Day and Easter.