BTIG Research Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT)

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by investment analysts at BTIG Research in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $140.00 target price on the retailer’s stock. BTIG Research‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 11.40% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on WMT. Deutsche Bank raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $113.00 to $136.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Walmart to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $138.00 price objective (up from $108.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.51.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $125.67 on Thursday. Walmart has a 1-year low of $98.88 and a 1-year high of $135.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $997.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.37, a P/E/G ratio of 4.53 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $113.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $118.70.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.83% and a net margin of 3.00%. The firm had revenue of $187.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.68 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total value of $575,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 110,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,699,680. This represents a 4.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Christopher Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.60, for a total transaction of $349,740.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 563,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,940,371.80. The trade was a 0.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 268,222 shares of company stock worth $31,604,051. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Walmart by 1.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 188,036,646 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $21,297,031,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,781 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Walmart during the second quarter valued at about $7,455,131,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 6.4% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 28,142,040 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,497,493,000 after buying an additional 1,681,353 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the second quarter worth about $2,905,655,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 44.4% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 20,796,957 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,355,463,000 after acquiring an additional 6,393,326 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart News Roundup

These are some of the WMT news items that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated its Buy rating and raised its price target to $139 from $126, citing further grocery and general-merchandise market-share gains and potential earnings growth. It also pointed to Walmart’s AI and advertising businesses as added support for its bullish view. Walmart’s AI and advertising businesses strengthen Bank of America’s bullish case
• Positive Sentiment: ETFs purchased about $112.9 million of Walmart shares on Nov. 10, a potentially supportive demand signal. 34 ETFs Add to Walmart (WMT) on Nov. 10
• Neutral Sentiment: A Q3 preview anticipates a bounce-back following a weak Q2, but this is an outlook rather than a reported result; the upcoming earnings release will determine whether that recovery is evident. Walmart: Q3 Preview, Expecting Bounce Back Following Weak Q2

About Walmart

Walmart is a multinational retailer that operates discount stores, supercenters, neighborhood markets, and membership warehouse clubs. Its business includes Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam’s Club. The company sells groceries and a broad range of general merchandise, including apparel, electronics, household goods, and health and wellness products. Walmart also serves customers through e-commerce, with services such as order pickup and delivery. Founded by Sam Walton in 1962, Walmart is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas.