Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Walmart Inc. has received a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from 31 analysts, with one strong buy rating, 29 buy ratings, and one hold rating.
• The average 12-month target price for Walmart shares among analysts is $110.76, following several recent price target increases from various research firms.
• Despite reporting a quarterly earnings per share of $0.68, Walmart missed the consensus estimate of $0.74 and revenue of $169.34 billion fell short of the expected $174.02 billion.

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the thirty-one analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $110.7586.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target (up from $112.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $106.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $100.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $98.23 and a 200-day moving average of $95.26. Walmart has a one year low of $76.30 and a one year high of $105.30. The company has a market cap of $804.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.92, a P/E/G ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.65.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The retailer reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $169.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.02 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 21.45%. Walmart's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. Walmart has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.580-0.600 EPS. FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.620 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Walmart will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.85, for a total value of $1,258,031.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 945,434 shares of the company's stock, valued at $90,619,848.90. This represents a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.58, for a total value of $1,855,781.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,412,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $421,737,000.84. The trade was a 0.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 121,382 shares of company stock valued at $11,718,441 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Whelan Financial raised its holdings in Walmart by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Whelan Financial now owns 4,339 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC raised its position in Walmart by 1.1% in the second quarter. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 8,707 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $851,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 2.1% during the second quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,804 shares of the retailer's stock worth $470,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.4% during the first quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 25,915 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,275,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.1% in the second quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,830 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $961,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Company Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.

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