Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Stock

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its target price upped by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $96.00 to $100.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the retailer’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 9.11% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. DZ Bank downgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group upped their price target on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.08.

Walmart Stock Up 0.9 %

Walmart stock opened at $91.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $736.26 billion, a PE ratio of 37.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.29. Walmart has a 12 month low of $52.58 and a 12 month high of $96.18.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion during 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total transaction of $166,624.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 457,493 shares in the company, valued at $36,915,110.17. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at $349,609,579.70. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 140,412 shares of company stock worth $12,478,116 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WMT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its position in Walmart by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.