Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Raised to Hold at Freedom Capital

Key Points

• Freedom Capital upgraded Walmart from “strong sell” to “hold”, even as other firms remained mostly constructive on the stock and the consensus analyst rating stayed at Moderate Buy.
• Walmart’s latest quarter showed solid operating performance, with revenue of $177.75 billion and EPS of $0.66, both in line with or above expectations. Revenue rose 7.4% year over year.
• The stock has seen some pressure from weaker-than-expected guidance and insider sales, though the executive transactions were made under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans. Analysts currently see an average price target of $138.71.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Freedom Capital from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

WMT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. HSBC lowered Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $122.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $140.00 price objective (up from $130.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $138.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $138.71.

Walmart Stock Performance

NASDAQ WMT opened at $120.27 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $126.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $958.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.77. Walmart has a fifty-two week low of $93.43 and a fifty-two week high of $135.15.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66. The company had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 3.13%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.08, for a total transaction of $1,628,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 661,037 shares of the company's stock, valued at $82,021,470.96. This trade represents a 1.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.77, for a total value of $167,212.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 635,593 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $85,023,275.61. This trade represents a 0.20% 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 126,008 shares of company stock valued at $15,896,715 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the first quarter worth $29,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth $25,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Beacon Financial Strategies CORP purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart posted solid first-quarter results, with revenue of $177.8 billion and EPS of $0.66, while e-commerce sales rose 26% and advertising revenue jumped 37%, highlighting continued strength in digital and membership-driven businesses.
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remained constructive after earnings: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating and said Walmart is well positioned to gain share in a price-sensitive environment, while BTIG and BNP Paribas Exane also kept positive ratings despite modestly trimming price targets.
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart disclosed pre-arranged insider sales by CEO John Furner and EVP Christopher James Nicholas, but both transactions were made under 10b5-1 plans, which typically limits how much investors read into them.
• Neutral Sentiment: News reports also noted leadership changes, including the departure of Sam’s Club COO Tom Ward and U.S. stores EVP Cedric Clark, adding some uncertainty but not appearing to change the company’s near-term operating outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Shares weakened after Walmart issued second-quarter EPS guidance below consensus and reaffirmed full-year targets that also came in below Wall Street expectations, prompting concerns that margin pressure could continue.
• Negative Sentiment: Management said elevated fuel prices are pressuring both consumers and Walmart’s own costs, reinforcing worries that spending could soften and profitability could stay under pressure in the coming quarters.

Walmart Company Profile

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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