Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Price Target Cut to $131.00 by Analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada cut Walmart’s price target to $131 from $137 but maintained an “outperform” rating, implying about 26% upside from the reported share price. The broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” with an average target of $137.24.
• Walmart exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting adjusted EPS of $0.81 versus $0.74 expected and revenue of $187.94 billion, up 5.9% year over year. E-commerce, advertising and membership revenue grew strongly.
• Despite the earnings beat, shares fell 9.2% after U.S. comparable sales growth of 2.6% missed expectations and fiscal third-quarter guidance came in below forecasts, raising concerns about consumer spending and Walmart’s premium valuation.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) had its price target cut by research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $137.00 to $131.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the retailer's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price objective points to a potential upside of 26.16% from the company's current price.

WMT has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings cut Walmart from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $142.00 price objective on Walmart and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Walmart to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $137.24.

Walmart Trading Down 9.2%

NASDAQ:WMT opened at $103.84 on Friday. Walmart has a one year low of $95.42 and a one year high of $135.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $826.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.44, a P/E/G ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $121.39.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. Walmart had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 21.25%. The firm had revenue of $187.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,710 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.10, for a total transaction of $419,601.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 626,299 shares of the company's stock, valued at $70,834,416.90. The trade was a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total value of $2,303,320.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,174,579 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $495,230,306.77. The trade was a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,164 shares of company stock valued at $6,389,402. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 57.4% in the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Sankala Group LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Key Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart reported adjusted earnings of $0.81 per share and revenue of $187.94 billion, exceeding consensus estimates of $0.74 and $186.62 billion, respectively. Revenue increased 5.9% year over year. Walmart quarterly earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Growth businesses remained strong: global e-commerce sales rose 23%, advertising revenue increased 38% and global membership revenue grew 17%. Gross-profit margin also improved, helped partly by tariff-related benefits. Walmart revenue growth release
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised its full-year fiscal 2027 outlook and expects to use approximately $2.9 billion in tariff refunds to support price cuts, potentially strengthening Walmart’s value proposition with financially pressured shoppers. Walmart tariff refund price cuts
• Neutral Sentiment: Some analysts view the selloff as a potential entry point, citing Walmart’s scale, international operations, digital growth, advertising business and margin gains. However, its roughly 36 times earnings valuation leaves less room for execution disappointments. Walmart post-earnings buying opportunity
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. comparable sales increased just 2.6%, below expectations near 3.5% and the weakest growth in more than six years. Investors interpreted the result as evidence that higher energy costs and inflation are forcing consumers to reduce or reprioritize spending. Reuters Walmart sales miss article
• Negative Sentiment: Fiscal third-quarter guidance was below Wall Street expectations: EPS of $0.62–$0.64 versus an estimated $0.68, and revenue of $183.1–$184.5 billion versus approximately $188.2 billion expected. The timing of Flipkart’s promotional event is also expected to reduce quarterly sales growth by more than 100 basis points. Investopedia Walmart guidance article
• Negative Sentiment: Gordon Haskett downgraded Walmart from “buy” to “accumulate,” reinforcing concerns that the stock’s premium valuation is vulnerable to slower U.S. sales growth and margin pressure from price investments.

About Walmart

Walmart is a multinational retail corporation that operates a broad portfolio of store formats and digital services. Its core business includes large-format supercenters, discount department stores, neighborhood grocery stores and a membership warehouse chain, Sam’s Club. The company’s merchandising mix covers groceries, household goods, apparel, electronics and pharmacy services, supplemented by private-label products and category-specific offerings. Walmart pairs its physical store network with online platforms and mobile applications to provide omnichannel shopping, fulfillment and delivery options for consumers and businesses.

The company was founded by Sam Walton, who opened the first store in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962; it is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas.

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