Walmart’s (WMT) “Outperform” Rating Reiterated at Royal Bank Of Canada

Royal Bank Of Canada reissued their outperform rating on shares of Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has a $137.00 price objective on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on WMT. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Erste Group Bank lowered Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $142.00 price objective on Walmart and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Walmart from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.56.

Walmart Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $115.27 on Wednesday. Walmart has a 12-month low of $95.42 and a 12-month high of $135.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $114.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $917.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.45, a PEG ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.61.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66. The company had revenue of $177.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.84 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 21.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.720-0.740 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.82, for a total transaction of $1,435,203.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 125,067 shares in the company, valued at $14,985,527.94. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,775 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.64, for a total transaction of $413,891.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 630,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,074,186.76. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 70,189 shares of company stock valued at $8,377,320. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 439,957,146 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $49,015,626,000 after buying an additional 4,304,436 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 184,805,978 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $19,046,104,000 after buying an additional 2,242,364 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,010,709 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,426,753,000 after buying an additional 6,517,394 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $6,458,529,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 40,626,852 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,526,238,000 after acquiring an additional 328,229 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

More Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s e-commerce business continues to be viewed as a significant growth engine, with its digital capabilities increasingly resembling a broader commerce platform rather than a traditional big-box retailer. Walmart’s E-Commerce Engine Roars
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies said potential tariff refunds could support Walmart’s price-leadership strategy. Reinvesting the money in lower prices could widen its price gap with competitors and help drive market-share gains, particularly in consumables. Walmart set for in-line Q2
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “Outperform” rating, providing some support for the long-term investment case despite near-term sales concerns. RBC Reaffirms Outperform Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart is expected to deliver largely in-line second-quarter results. The key catalysts are management’s second-half outlook, tariff-refund treatment and the potential effect on pricing and margins. Walmart Q2 earnings preview
• Neutral Sentiment: The company will release results before the market opens on August 20 and host a conference call with CEO John Furner and CFO John David Rainey. Walmart to Host Second Quarter Earnings Conference Call
• Negative Sentiment: Deutsche Bank expects Walmart to miss second-quarter comparable-sales estimates, while high gasoline prices are pressuring household budgets and raising the retailer’s operating costs. Walmart Seen Missing Comparable Sales Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts have cited elevated fuel costs, rising expenses and valuation concerns as reasons for Walmart’s recent weakness, despite solid revenue growth and e-commerce momentum. Walmart Stock Slides About 12% in 3 Months
• Negative Sentiment: Amazon’s AI-powered Alexa shopping tools could intensify competition for grocery-list creation and digital shopping relationships, areas strategically important to Walmart’s e-commerce growth. Amazon’s Alexa Shopping Strategy

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.