Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price target boosted by analysts at Barclays from $78.00 to $90.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the retailer’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 0.49% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. DA Davidson increased their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $66.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two equities research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.88.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $90.44 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.84. The company has a market capitalization of $726.98 billion, a PE ratio of 37.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.51. Walmart has a twelve month low of $49.85 and a twelve month high of $90.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total transaction of $246,360.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WMT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 138.3% in the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.