Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Trading Down 4.2% on Disappointing Earnings

Key Points

• Walmart's stock fell 4.2% to $98.30 after the retailer reported quarterly earnings that missed expectations, with a EPS of $0.68 compared to the consensus estimate of $0.74.
• The company announced a $0.235 dividend to be paid on September 2nd, with an ex-dividend date of August 15th, representing a yield of 90.0%.
• Analysts continue to have a positive outlook on Walmart, with multiple firms reaffirming ratings and setting price targets between $110.00 and $117.00.

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 4.2% during trading on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as low as $96.95 and last traded at $98.30. Approximately 24,661,403 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 30% from the average daily volume of 18,909,357 shares. The stock had previously closed at $102.57.

The retailer reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $169.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.02 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. Walmart has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.580-0.600 EPS. FY 2026 guidance at 2.520-2.620 EPS.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a yield of 90.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Walmart's payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on WMT shares. Mizuho reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $110.00 price target (up from $108.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $117.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.89.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.14, for a total value of $380,560.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 1,056,455 shares in the company, valued at $100,511,128.70. This represents a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 4,412,398 shares in the company, valued at $421,737,000.84. This trade represents a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 84,841 shares of company stock valued at $8,161,365. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 1.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 431,817,510 shares of the retailer's stock worth $42,223,116,000 after purchasing an additional 5,856,468 shares in the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 397,264.9% in the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 104,514,912 shares of the retailer's stock worth $10,496,702,000 after purchasing an additional 104,488,610 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 0.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 94,557,532 shares of the retailer's stock worth $9,199,712,000 after purchasing an additional 263,718 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Walmart in the second quarter worth $5,367,770,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Walmart by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,943,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550,037 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Down 4.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The company has a market cap of $785.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.67.

About Walmart

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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