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

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price target raised by analysts at Truist Financial from $89.00 to $98.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the retailer’s stock. Truist Financial’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 10.96% from the company’s previous close.

WMT has been the topic of several other research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.49.

Walmart Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of WMT opened at $88.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $709.94 billion, a PE ratio of 36.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s fifty day moving average is $81.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.54. Walmart has a fifty-two week low of $49.85 and a fifty-two week high of $88.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. Analysts forecast that Walmart will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total transaction of $232,440.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 384,165 shares in the company, valued at $29,765,104.20. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $209,607,941.31. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. This trade represents a 0.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 138.3% during the 2nd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 253.0% during the 1st quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 526 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.