Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Freedom Capital

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) was upgraded by investment analysts at Freedom Capital from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Gordon Haskett lowered Walmart from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Walmart from $137.00 to $131.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Evercore set a $125.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target (down from $140.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.88.

Walmart Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:WMT opened at $103.70 on Thursday. Walmart has a 12-month low of $95.42 and a 12-month high of $135.15. The business has a 50 day moving average of $113.35 and a 200-day moving average of $121.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $825.25 billion, a PE ratio of 37.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.61.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $187.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.64 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.83% and a net margin of 3.00%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.82, for a total value of $1,435,203.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 125,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,985,527.94. The trade was a 8.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total value of $1,308,670.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 120,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,300,550.91. The trade was a 8.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 57,064 shares of company stock worth $6,697,788. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MFA Wealth Services raised its position in shares of Walmart by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. MFA Wealth Services now owns 10,909 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,356,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Realta Investment Advisors boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 4,089 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $508,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Compton Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Compton Financial Group LLC now owns 2,081 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Group LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Group LLC now owns 9,636 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Calton & Associates Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. now owns 27,220 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,033,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart reported adjusted earnings of $0.81 per share and revenue of $187.94 billion, beating consensus estimates of $0.74 and $186.62 billion, respectively. Revenue increased 5.9% year over year. Walmart earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Growth businesses remain strong: global e-commerce sales rose 23%, advertising revenue increased 38%, and global membership revenue grew 17%. These trends support the long-term investment case despite slower core-store growth. Walmart second-quarter highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart plans to use approximately $2.9 billion in tariff refunds to help lower prices, potentially strengthening its value proposition as consumers become more budget-conscious. The rollout of tap-to-pay, including Apple Pay and Google Pay, may also improve checkout convenience. Walmart tap to pay rollout
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analysts retained bullish ratings—including buy, outperform, and overweight—but lowered price targets after the earnings release. New targets range from $120 to $140, indicating analysts still see meaningful upside but have moderated their expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. comparable sales grew 2.6%, below expectations near 3.5%, marking Walmart’s weakest domestic comparable-sales growth in more than six years. Analysts cited weakness in health and wellness and questioned the trajectory of the core U.S. business.
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter guidance fell short of consensus: Walmart projected adjusted EPS of $0.62–$0.64 versus $0.68 expected and revenue of $183.1–$184.5 billion versus $188.2 billion expected. The timing of Flipkart’s promotional event is also expected to reduce quarterly sales growth by more than 100 basis points.
• Negative Sentiment: The stock’s elevated valuation increases sensitivity to any slowdown, while higher energy costs and consumer trade-offs are raising broader concerns about the health of U.S. retail spending.

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.