Jefferies Financial Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its target price raised by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $90.00 to $100.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the retailer’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 18.20% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on WMT. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. KeyCorp raised their price target on Walmart from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.18.

Walmart Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of WMT stock traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $84.60. 6,521,877 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,662,814. The company has a market capitalization of $680.04 billion, a PE ratio of 44.03, a PEG ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.51. Walmart has a 52 week low of $49.85 and a 52 week high of $85.79. The business has a 50 day moving average of $81.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.61 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total value of $166,607.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 459,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,113,904.08. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. This trade represents a 0.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Pinnacle Family Advisors LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 17.4% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Family Advisors LLC now owns 5,434 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 804 shares during the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 143,200 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,563,000 after purchasing an additional 10,700 shares during the period. Polymer Capital Management HK LTD purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $787,000. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. now owns 35,280 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,849,000 after buying an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Motley Fool Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the third quarter valued at about $28,828,000. 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.