Stifel Nicolaus Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price target cut by investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $99.00 to $93.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the retailer’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 8.22% from the company’s previous close.

WMT has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.17.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $85.94 on Thursday. Walmart has a one year low of $58.56 and a one year high of $105.30. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $688.93 billion, a PE ratio of 35.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % 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 Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,350,158.55. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 189,777 shares of company stock valued at $18,001,116. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. M1 Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $701,000. DSG Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,679,000. Chancellor Financial Group WB LP acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $400,000. Triton Wealth Management PLLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Triton Wealth Management PLLC now owns 27,469 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,288,000 after acquiring an additional 1,843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 111 Capital acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,844,000. 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.