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

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price target hoisted by research analysts at Citigroup from $98.00 to $120.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the retailer’s stock. Citigroup’s target price points to a potential upside of 15.81% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on WMT. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.56.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $103.62 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $832.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.53, a PEG ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $94.45 and a 200 day moving average of $84.82. Walmart has a 12 month low of $55.85 and a 12 month high of $103.90.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results 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 the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $120,000. Yoffe Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,857,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC raised 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 valued at $538,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Uniting Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $91,954,000. Finally, Pitcairn Co. increased its holdings in Walmart by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 24,721 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,234,000 after buying an additional 498 shares during the period. 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.