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

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $105.00 to $111.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the retailer’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 17.24% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on WMT. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Roth Mkm raised their target price on Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.69.

Walmart Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded down $0.19 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $94.68. The stock had a trading volume of 4,655,184 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,844,795. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $86.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.32. The company has a market capitalization of $760.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.86, a PEG ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.54. 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 has a one year low of $51.04 and a one year high of $96.18.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total transaction of $2,348,559.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,873,053 shares in the company, valued at $312,322,993.92. This trade represents a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 359,616 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.25, for a total value of $28,139,952.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 603,989,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,262,194,181.50. The trade was a 0.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 503,028 shares of company stock valued at $40,368,211 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after buying an additional 2,786,061 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Walmart by 12.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after acquiring an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,392,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480,927 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,456,704,000 after purchasing an additional 644,353 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Walmart

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.