Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Barclays Analyst Says

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price objective boosted by research analysts at Barclays from $98.00 to $108.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the retailer’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 3.81% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on WMT. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.17.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT stock opened at $104.04 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $835.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.70, a PEG ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.33. Walmart has a one year low of $55.99 and a one year high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Walmart will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 5,446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,577.05. The trade was a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Walmart by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,800,743 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $142,973,000 after purchasing an additional 83,376 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $431,632,000 after buying an additional 18,644 shares during the period. Buffington Mohr McNeal lifted its stake in Walmart by 10.2% during the third quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal now owns 15,028 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,214,000 after purchasing an additional 1,396 shares during the last quarter. Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $237,000. Finally, Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 4.3% during the third quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 52,599 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,247,000 after purchasing an additional 2,149 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Company Profile

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.