Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Cut to “Accumulate” at Gordon Haskett

Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) from a buy rating to an accumulate rating in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on WMT. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $142.00 price target on Walmart and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings cut Walmart from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 18th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.88.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $103.70 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.26. Walmart has a 12 month low of $95.42 and a 12 month high of $135.15. The company has a market cap of $825.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.44, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $187.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.64 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.83% and a net margin of 3.00%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart will post 2.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,710 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.10, for a total transaction of $419,601.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 626,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,834,416.90. This represents a 0.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total value of $1,308,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 120,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,300,550.91. This represents a 8.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 57,064 shares of company stock worth $6,697,788 in the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 2nd quarter valued at $7,455,131,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $6,458,529,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the second quarter worth $2,905,655,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 188.1% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,663,172 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,199,907,000 after buying an additional 7,614,172 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in Walmart during the second quarter valued at $796,677,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

More Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart reported adjusted earnings of $0.81 per share and revenue of $187.94 billion, beating consensus estimates of $0.74 and $186.62 billion, respectively. Revenue increased 5.9% year over year. Walmart earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Growth businesses remain strong: global e-commerce sales rose 23%, advertising revenue increased 38%, and global membership revenue grew 17%. These trends support the long-term investment case despite slower core-store growth. Walmart second-quarter highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart plans to use approximately $2.9 billion in tariff refunds to help lower prices, potentially strengthening its value proposition as consumers become more budget-conscious. The rollout of tap-to-pay, including Apple Pay and Google Pay, may also improve checkout convenience. Walmart tap to pay rollout
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analysts retained bullish ratings—including buy, outperform, and overweight—but lowered price targets after the earnings release. New targets range from $120 to $140, indicating analysts still see meaningful upside but have moderated their expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. comparable sales grew 2.6%, below expectations near 3.5%, marking Walmart’s weakest domestic comparable-sales growth in more than six years. Analysts cited weakness in health and wellness and questioned the trajectory of the core U.S. business.
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter guidance fell short of consensus: Walmart projected adjusted EPS of $0.62–$0.64 versus $0.68 expected and revenue of $183.1–$184.5 billion versus $188.2 billion expected. The timing of Flipkart’s promotional event is also expected to reduce quarterly sales growth by more than 100 basis points.
• Negative Sentiment: The stock’s elevated valuation increases sensitivity to any slowdown, while higher energy costs and consumer trade-offs are raising broader concerns about the health of U.S. retail spending.

About Walmart

Walmart is a multinational retail corporation that operates a broad portfolio of store formats and digital services. Its core business includes large-format supercenters, discount department stores, neighborhood grocery stores and a membership warehouse chain, Sam’s Club. The company’s merchandising mix covers groceries, household goods, apparel, electronics and pharmacy services, supplemented by private-label products and category-specific offerings. Walmart pairs its physical store network with online platforms and mobile applications to provide omnichannel shopping, fulfillment and delivery options for consumers and businesses.

The company was founded by Sam Walton, who opened the first store in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962; it is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas.