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

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price target raised by equities researchers at Evercore ISI from $94.00 to $96.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the retailer’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price target indicates a potential upside of 1.64% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.11.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $94.45 on Tuesday. Walmart has a 12-month low of $49.85 and a 12-month high of $94.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $759.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total value of $2,348,559.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,873,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $312,322,993.92. This trade represents a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total value of $277,410.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 375,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,691,507.55. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,300,460 shares of company stock worth $570,820,065 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Shotwell Rutter Baer Inc bought a new position in Walmart during the second quarter worth about $384,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 13.1% during the second quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 313,726 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $21,242,000 after purchasing an additional 36,376 shares during the period. Lwmg LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 5.8% during the second quarter. Lwmg LLC now owns 7,476 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the period. Worth Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 57.3% during the second quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC now owns 7,529 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $510,000 after purchasing an additional 2,743 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 12.0% during the second quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 10,895 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $738,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.