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

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its target price raised by equities research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $85.00 to $89.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the retailer’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective points to a potential upside of 2.58% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently commented on WMT. Roth Mkm raised their target price on Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup upped their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.51.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $86.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,419,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,802,201. The firm has a market capitalization of $697.40 billion, a PE ratio of 45.05, a P/E/G ratio of 4.19 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80. Walmart has a fifty-two week low of $49.85 and a fifty-two week high of $88.29. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.34.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total transaction of $2,348,559.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,873,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $312,322,993.92. This trade represents a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total value of $232,440.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 384,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,765,104.20. This trade represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Walmart by 181.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,421,342,000 after acquiring an additional 36,625,314 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Walmart by 479.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,492,200,000 after purchasing an additional 15,290,936 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 284.0% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,122,273 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $669,227,000 after purchasing an additional 8,225,552 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 8,814.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $562,280,000 after purchasing an additional 6,885,106 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.