Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Given Buy Rating at Guggenheim

Walmart (NYSE:WMT)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Guggenheim in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $100.00 target price on the retailer’s stock. Guggenheim’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 7.82% from the stock’s current price.

WMT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.43.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock traded down $2.03 during trading on Monday, reaching $92.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,755,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,508,885. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company’s fifty day moving average is $95.63 and its 200-day moving average is $86.71. The company has a market capitalization of $745.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart has a 1 year low of $58.18 and a 1 year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total value of $512,120.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 87,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,993,095.80. This represents a 6.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 176,777 shares of company stock worth $16,570,112. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Whelan Financial increased its stake in Walmart by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Whelan Financial now owns 4,339 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $924,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

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.