BNP Paribas Exane Reiterates Outperform Rating for Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT)

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at BNP Paribas Exane in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $137.00 target price on the retailer’s stock, down from their previous target price of $146.00. BNP Paribas Exane’s price target indicates a potential upside of 33.19% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. BTIG Research decreased their price target on Walmart from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Evercore set a $125.00 price objective on Walmart in a report on Friday. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.35.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock traded down $0.98 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $102.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 28,036,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,514,193. The firm has a market capitalization of $818.57 billion, a PE ratio of 36.09, a P/E/G ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.61. Walmart has a fifty-two week low of $95.42 and a fifty-two week high of $135.15. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. Walmart had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 21.25%. The business had revenue of $187.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.97, for a total transaction of $1,308,670.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 120,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,300,550.91. This represents a 8.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.19, for a total transaction of $342,751.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 574,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,953,695.07. This trade represents a 0.50% decrease in their position. 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 54,164 shares of company stock worth $6,389,402. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MFA Wealth Services lifted 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 acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Realta Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of Walmart by 2.0% in the first quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 4,089 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $508,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Compton Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 4.1% during the first 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 raised its holdings in Walmart by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Group LLC now owns 9,636 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Calton & Associates Inc. boosted its position in Walmart by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. now owns 27,220 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,033,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart reported fiscal second-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.81, above the $0.74 consensus, while revenue rose 5.9% year over year to $187.94 billion, topping estimates. The company also raised its full-year fiscal 2027 outlook. Walmart earnings release
• Positive Sentiment: Digital sales increased 23%, advertising revenue grew 38%, and global membership revenue rose 17%, highlighting growth drivers beyond Walmart’s physical stores. Walmart e-commerce sales article
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart will begin rolling out contactless payments, including Apple Pay, Google Pay and tap-enabled cards, at select Walmart and Sam’s Club locations on Aug. 24 before expanding across the U.S. The change could improve checkout convenience and customer experience. Walmart Tap to Pay rollout
• Neutral Sentiment: Walmart expects to receive approximately $2.9 billion in tariff refunds and plans to use the benefit partly to lower prices. While this may support traffic and market share, it could also limit margin expansion once the one-time benefit fades. Walmart tariff refund article
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. comparable sales grew 2.6%, below expectations of roughly 3.5% and the weakest growth in more than six years. Rising gasoline costs and pressured consumers are raising concerns about discretionary spending and the broader U.S. consumer. Reuters Walmart sales miss article
• Negative Sentiment: Fiscal third-quarter guidance fell short of consensus: Walmart forecast 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 third-quarter sales growth by more than 100 basis points. Investopedia Walmart guidance article
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan, UBS, Wells Fargo, RBC, Baird and BTIG all lowered their Walmart price targets following the report, although each retained a positive rating. The revisions signal reduced near-term expectations and reinforce valuation concerns.

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.