Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Telsey Advisory Group Analyst Says

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price target raised by Telsey Advisory Group from $92.00 to $100.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the retailer’s stock. Telsey Advisory Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 15.47% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Melius Research initiated coverage on Walmart in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.98.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded up $2.52 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $86.60. The stock had a trading volume of 36,254,871 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,837,172. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $696.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.10, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.51. Walmart has a 1-year low of $49.85 and a 1-year high of $88.29.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total value of $232,440.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 384,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,765,104.20. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Second Line Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 46,450 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,751,000 after buying an additional 2,614 shares in the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 140.1% in the third quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 151,115 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $12,203,000 after acquiring an additional 88,177 shares during the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 31.9% in the third quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,716 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $946,000 after acquiring an additional 2,831 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in Walmart by 3.1% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 2,337,363 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $188,742,000 after acquiring an additional 71,075 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Strait & Sound Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,651 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,506,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.