Zacks reiterated their neutral rating on shares of Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) in a research note issued to investors on Friday. The firm currently has a $74.00 target price on the stock.
Zacks’ analyst wrote, “Walmart posted better-than-expected fourth quarter earnings of $1.67 per share and beat the prior-year earnings by 10.6%, benefited from a lower-than-expected effective tax rate in the quarter. Top-line growth coupled with productivity improvements also boosted earnings. Total revenue climbed 3.9% to $127.9 billion, but lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $129.2 billion. The company also posted positive comparable store sales. Overall, we are impressed with the company’s initiatives to reduce operating expenses. In addition, the company has strong international presence and has been expanding its e-commerce business. However, rising gas prices, delayed income tax refunds and higher payroll taxes might hurt consumer spending going ahead. Also, Walmart’s actions and operations are often subject to strict media scrutiny. Currency headwinds and continued economic pressures also keep us on the sidelines.”
WMT has been the subject of a number of other recent research reports. Analysts at MKM Partners raised their price target on shares of Wal-Mart Stores from $72.00 to $76.00 in a research note to investors on Friday. They now have a neutral rating on the stock. Separately, analysts at Oracle Investment Research downgraded shares of Wal-Mart Stores from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a research note to investors on Tuesday, February 19th. They now have a $60.00 price target on the stock. Finally, analysts at Deutsche Bank reiterated a hold rating on shares of Wal-Mart Stores in a research note to investors on Friday, February 15th. They now have a $68.00 price target on the stock.
Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, two have issued an overweight rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating, and one has given a sell rating to the stock. The company currently has a consensus rating of overweight and a consensus target price of $78.59.
Shares of Wal-Mart Stores traded up 0.62% during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $70.875. Wal-Mart Stores has a 52 week low of $57.18 and a 52 week high of $77.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average is currently $69.. The company has a market cap of $236.7 billion and a P/E ratio of 14.03.
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which is scheduled for Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 7th.
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