MKM Partners analyst Patrick McKeever lowered his price target on Big Lots to $58 after the company's comps slipped in Q4, even though the decline was due in part to "unfavorable weather in mid-January that hurt early sales of lawn & garden in Big Lots' warm markets". McKeever keeps his Buy rating on Big Lots, noting that despite weaker comps, Q4 earnings were a beat due to better than expected gross margins that more than offset higher SG&A. The analyst is also increasingly upbeat on the company's Store of the Future initiative after hearing about the concept's early performance as it could "become a meaningful catalyst later in FY18."