Walmart's (WMT) "Outperform" Rating Reiterated at Royal Bank Of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on Walmart and kept a $137 price target, implying about 25.6% upside from the prior close.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on the stock, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.85.
• Walmart’s latest earnings met EPS expectations and beat revenue estimates, while the stock recently traded lower at $109.05, below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reissued by research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $137.00 price objective on the retailer's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price objective suggests a potential upside of 25.63% from the stock's previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 8th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $120.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, UBS Group set a $141.00 price objective on shares of Walmart and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $138.85.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT stock traded down $1.34 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $109.05. 5,225,181 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 25,464,332. The firm has a market cap of $867.83 billion, a PE ratio of 38.26, a P/E/G ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Walmart has a 1-year low of $95.29 and a 1-year high of $135.15. The company's fifty day moving average price is $118.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.11.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.66. Walmart had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 21.25%. The firm had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $174.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. Walmart's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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 expect that Walmart will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.21, for a total value of $2,566,989.36. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,193,995 shares in the company, valued at $554,488,078.95. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through 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 firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total value 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. This represents a 8.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 87,145 shares of company stock worth $10,691,920 in the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,458,529,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 188.1% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,199,907,000 after acquiring an additional 7,614,172 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $11,426,753,000 after acquiring an additional 6,517,394 shares during the period. Capital International Investors acquired a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $592,848,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer's stock worth $49,015,626,000 after purchasing an additional 4,304,436 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

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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