Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Stock Rating Upgraded by Freedom Capital

Key Points

• Freedom Capital upgraded Walmart to “strong buy” from “hold.” The broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $131.88, though several firms recently lowered their targets.
• Walmart’s latest quarter beat expectations, with earnings of $0.81 per share and revenue of $187.94 billion, up 5.9% year over year. E-commerce, advertising and membership businesses posted strong growth.
• Near-term concerns remain: U.S. comparable sales growth of 2.6% missed expectations, and third-quarter earnings and revenue guidance came in below consensus, contributing to elevated valuation risk.

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

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Walmart from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Walmart from $137.00 to $131.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. BNP Paribas Exane restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $137.00 price objective (down from $146.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $131.88.

Walmart Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $103.70 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $825.25 billion, a PE ratio of 37.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.61. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $113.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77. Walmart has a 52-week low of $95.42 and a 52-week high of $135.15.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $187.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.64 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.83% and a net margin of 3.00%.The business's revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. 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, analysts predict that Walmart will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,710 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.10, for a total transaction of $419,601.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 626,299 shares in the company, valued at $70,834,416.90. The trade was a 0.59% 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 Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total transaction of $1,308,670.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 120,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,300,550.91. The trade was a 8.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 57,064 shares of company stock valued at $6,697,788. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 57.4% during 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 during the last quarter. Sankala Group LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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, beating consensus estimates of $0.74 and $186.62 billion, respectively. Revenue increased 5.9% year over year. Walmart earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Growth businesses remain strong: global e-commerce sales rose 23%, advertising revenue increased 38%, and global membership revenue grew 17%. These trends support the long-term investment case despite slower core-store growth. Walmart second-quarter highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart plans to use approximately $2.9 billion in tariff refunds to help lower prices, potentially strengthening its value proposition as consumers become more budget-conscious. The rollout of tap-to-pay, including Apple Pay and Google Pay, may also improve checkout convenience. Walmart tap to pay rollout
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analysts retained bullish ratings—including buy, outperform, and overweight—but lowered price targets after the earnings release. New targets range from $120 to $140, indicating analysts still see meaningful upside but have moderated their expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. comparable sales grew 2.6%, below expectations near 3.5%, marking Walmart’s weakest domestic comparable-sales growth in more than six years. Analysts cited weakness in health and wellness and questioned the trajectory of the core U.S. business.
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter guidance fell short of consensus: Walmart projected adjusted EPS of $0.62–$0.64 versus $0.68 expected and revenue of $183.1–$184.5 billion versus $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.
• Negative Sentiment: The stock’s elevated valuation increases sensitivity to any slowdown, while higher energy costs and consumer trade-offs are raising broader concerns about the health of U.S. retail spending.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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