Erste Group Bank Weighs in on Walmart FY2028 Earnings

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) – Stock analysts at Erste Group Bank issued their FY2028 earnings estimates for shares of Walmart in a report issued on Wednesday, February 18th. Erste Group Bank analyst S. Lingnau anticipates that the retailer will post earnings of $2.96 per share for the year. The consensus estimate for Walmart’s current full-year earnings is $2.55 per share.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on WMT. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $138.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. Argus upgraded shares of Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $147.00 price objective (up from $120.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $132.53.

Walmart Stock Up 2.3%

WMT stock opened at $125.81 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $119.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.53. Walmart has a fifty-two week low of $79.81 and a fifty-two week high of $134.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $1.00 trillion, a P/E ratio of 45.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.97 and a beta of 0.65.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The retailer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. Walmart had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 21.44%. The business had revenue of $190.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $188.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its FY 2027 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.610-0.610 EPS.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 11th will be issued a $0.2475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.31%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.83, for a total value of $2,171,291.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,315,333 shares in the company, valued at $482,583,689.39. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 34,082 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.00, for a total value of $4,158,004.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 533,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,082,852. This represents a 6.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 261,903 shares of company stock valued at $31,496,959 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GuidedMoney LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $309,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,537 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $505,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Monetary Solutions Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $183,000. Kera Capital Partners Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 33.1% during the fourth quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 11,891 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after buying an additional 2,960 shares during the period. Finally, Walser Wealth Management Company A Ltd Liability Co purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $443,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Walmart

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company-level catalyst — Walmart announced a new share-buyback alongside other large firms; buyback authorizations boost EPS potential and reduce share count over time. 3 Major Buybacks Just Dropped—Here’s the Signal Investors See
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support — Telsey raised its WMT target to $140 and kept an Outperform rating; BTIG reiterated a Buy and price-target lift headlines reinforce upside expectations. Telsey Advisory Sees Walmart Strengthening Position • BTIG Reiterates Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals — Walmart’s U.S. segment delivered ~4.6% comp growth (grocery traffic + e‑commerce strength), supporting FY27 outlook and the recent earnings beat that investors cheered. WMT’s U.S. Segment Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: Market share/consumer trends — A dunnhumby tracker shows Walmart’s U.S. household penetration rising (reported at ~72%), evidence of resilient demand and pricing/affordability positioning versus traditional grocers. Walmart, Dollar Stores Beat Traditional Grocers’ Reach
• Neutral Sentiment: Street commentary — Additional analyst notes and bank commentary (Erste Group) provide perspective on FY outlook but don’t materially change consensus; they keep focus on execution and margin trends. Erste Group Bank Comments on Walmart FY2028 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — Multiple senior executives (CEO John Furner and two EVPs) disclosed sizable stock sales this week, which can create short‑term sentiment pressure even if sales are often for diversification or tax reasons. SEC filings: CEO Form 4, EVP Christopher Nicholas Form 4, EVP Latriece Watkins Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/headline risk — Walmart flagged labor-market nuances and mentioned a “hiring recession” context in broader commentary, which could signal consumer fragility ahead and temper cyclically sensitive spending. Walmart Warns of “Hiring Recession”

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.