Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Raised to Strong-Buy at Freedom Capital

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

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on WMT. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $126.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Walmart from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $137.00 target price (down from $146.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.88.

Walmart Price Performance

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

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $187.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.64 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.00% and a return on equity of 21.83%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $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. On average, research analysts forecast that Walmart will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.63, for a total value of $2,303,320.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,174,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,230,306.77. This trade represents a 0.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Latriece Watkins sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 120,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,300,550.91. This trade represents a 8.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 57,064 shares of company stock worth $6,697,788 over the last quarter. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MFA Wealth Services boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Realta Investment Advisors raised its stake 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 buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Compton Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Compton Financial Group LLC now owns 2,081 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Renaissance Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Group LLC now owns 9,636 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Calton & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting 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.

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.