Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Stock Picked Up by Analysts at TD Cowen

Key Points

• TD Cowen initiated coverage of Walmart with a “strong-buy” rating. Walmart has a consensus “Buy” rating from analysts and an average price target of $132.41.
• Walmart’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $0.81 versus the $0.74 consensus and revenue of $187.94 billion, up 5.9% year over year.
• Walmart shares opened at $123.51, up 1.9%, while the company continues to pursue growth through automation, energy products and healthcare services; however, its elevated valuation and competitive and regulatory risks could limit upside.

Analysts at TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Friday, Zacks reports. The firm set a "strong-buy" rating on the retailer's stock.

WMT has been the subject of several other reports. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $113.00 to $136.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $132.41.

Walmart Trading Up 1.9%

WMT opened at $123.51 on Friday. Walmart has a 52 week low of $98.88 and a 52 week high of $135.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $118.40. The firm has a market cap of $979.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.59, a P/E/G ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.58.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.83% and a net margin of 3.00%. The firm had revenue of $187.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.68 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total value of $575,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 110,432 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,699,680. This trade represents a 4.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Daniel Bartlett sold 3,990 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.41, for a total value of $416,595.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 618,359 shares of the company's stock, valued at $64,562,863.19. The trade was a 0.64% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 102,244 shares of company stock worth $11,112,044 over the last quarter. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,451,000. Advisortrust Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 20.2% in the 1st quarter. Advisortrust Partners LLC now owns 67,142 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,344,000 after acquiring an additional 11,283 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,455,131,000. HORAN Wealth LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 55.7% in the 1st quarter. HORAN Wealth LLC now owns 81,544 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $9,931,000 after purchasing an additional 29,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park National Corp OH increased its stake in Walmart by 282.9% in the 3rd quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 119,865 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $12,456,000 after purchasing an additional 88,562 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Energy investment expands Walmart’s customer offerings: Walmart is making a strategic investment in Base Power and will offer the company’s home battery systems to Walmart customers and Sam’s Club members beginning in November. The systems are designed to reduce energy costs and provide backup power, creating a potential new customer benefit while expanding Walmart’s ecosystem beyond traditional retail. Walmart and Base Power announce strategic agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Major automation agreement with Symbotic: Walmart expanded its commercial relationship with warehouse-automation provider Symbotic in a deal valued at approximately $6 billion. Greater automation could improve fulfillment capacity, labor efficiency and inventory management, although the investment also carries execution and capital-spending risks. Symbotic stock jumps on Walmart automation deal
• Positive Sentiment: Strong fundamentals continue to support the stock: Walmart’s latest quarterly results exceeded consensus estimates for both earnings and revenue, with revenue rising year over year. Analysts and market commentary continue to highlight earnings growth and price strength as reasons to remain constructive on WMT. Earnings growth and price strength make Walmart a stock to watch
• Neutral Sentiment: Healthcare expansion offers a longer-term growth avenue: Walmart has broadened its Better Care Services platform into a healthcare marketplace connecting customers with third-party providers. The initiative could increase customer engagement, but its financial contribution is not yet clear. Walmart launched a healthcare services marketplace
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and regulatory concerns remain: DoorDash’s proposed $17 billion acquisition of Instacart is intended partly to strengthen competition with Walmart and Amazon in local commerce and grocery delivery. Separately, the FTC is seeking information from Walmart about the use of personal data in personalized pricing, creating potential compliance and reputational risks. FTC orders Walmart and others to share pricing data information
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation comparisons could limit upside: Walmart trades at a substantially higher earnings multiple than Target, while commentary suggests Walmart’s comparable-sales growth may be moderating. That premium leaves the stock more exposed if growth expectations weaken. Target trades at a fraction of Walmart’s valuation

Walmart Company Profile

Walmart Inc NASDAQ: WMT operates a global retail business through a network of supercenters, supermarkets, discount stores, neighborhood markets, warehouse clubs and e-commerce platforms. Its stores and websites sell a broad assortment of merchandise, including groceries, consumables, health and wellness products, apparel, electronics, home goods, toys and other general merchandise.

The company organizes its operations into Walmart U.S., Walmart International and Sam's Club U.S. Walmart U.S.

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