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

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price target raised by Jefferies Financial Group from $90.00 to $100.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the retailer’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 18.69% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Walmart from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Walmart from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.18.

Walmart Stock Down 0.3 %

WMT stock opened at $84.25 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $677.22 billion, a PE ratio of 43.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a fifty day moving average of $81.29 and a 200-day moving average of $72.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80. Walmart has a one year low of $49.85 and a one year high of $85.79.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Walmart will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following the sale, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. This represents a 0.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walmart

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WMT. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 138.3% in the 2nd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 253.0% during the first quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 526 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.