Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Barclays Analyst Says

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its target price upped by Barclays from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the retailer’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 6.93% from the stock’s previous close.

WMT has been the topic of a number of other reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. DZ Bank lowered Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.95.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT stock traded up $0.84 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $91.65. 13,426,350 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,967,504. Walmart has a 1-year low of $52.58 and a 1-year high of $96.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $736.26 billion, a PE ratio of 37.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Walmart will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total value of $166,624.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 457,493 shares in the company, valued at $36,915,110.17. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total value of $2,411,175.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,843,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $318,238,881.91. This trade represents a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 140,412 shares of company stock worth $12,478,116 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 77.3% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.