Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Earns Outperform Rating from Royal Bank Of Canada

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $137.00 price objective on the retailer’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price objective points to a potential upside of 26.38% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on WMT. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 8th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on Walmart from $147.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $137.00 price objective (up from $135.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.85.

Walmart Trading Down 0.9%

Walmart stock opened at $108.40 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $862.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.04, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Walmart has a 1 year low of $95.35 and a 1 year high of $135.15. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $117.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.06.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66. The firm had revenue of $177.75 billion during 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%. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $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. On average, equities analysts predict that Walmart will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.08, for a total transaction of $1,628,550.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 661,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $82,021,470.96. The trade was a 1.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.64, for a total value of $413,891.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 630,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,074,186.76. This trade 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. Insiders have sold 67,729 shares of company stock worth $8,124,931 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 28.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,868,000 after purchasing an additional 21,939 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Walmart by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,849 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $800,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. Peterson Wealth Management raised its position in Walmart by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Peterson Wealth Management now owns 50,307 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,715 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 0.9% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 13,008 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,272,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its stake in Walmart by 1.2% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 91,341 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,931,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Key Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating on Walmart and raised its price target to $137, signaling meaningful upside potential from current levels. Benzinga report on RBC rating
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent articles highlight Walmart as a wide-moat and growth stock, pointing to durable competitive advantages and steady financial growth that can support investor confidence. Wide-moat stocks article
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart announced a partnership with ReturnPro to refurbish and resell returned products, which could improve e-commerce efficiency, recover losses from returns, and reduce waste. Yahoo Finance ReturnPro partnership article
• Neutral Sentiment: Media coverage on Walmart’s dividend history may attract income-focused investors, but it does not appear to be a new catalyst for the stock today. TheStreet dividend article
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical commentary notes Walmart’s extended downturn could set up a possible rebound, but this is more of a sentiment/valuation call than a fundamental change. MSN comeback article
• Negative Sentiment: RBC and other market commentary suggest Walmart may report a softer fiscal Q2 as lower-income shoppers remain under pressure, raising concerns about near-term sales momentum. Yahoo Finance softer Q2 article
• Negative Sentiment: One article argues Walmart has lagged the market over the past several months, with recent softer results contributing to investor caution. Yahoo Finance stock falls article

Walmart Company Profile

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.