Oppenheimer Lowers Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Price Target to $95.00

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) had its price objective decreased by research analysts at Oppenheimer from $110.00 to $95.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the retailer’s stock. Oppenheimer’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 10.72% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on WMT. Erste Group Bank cut Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Three equities 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.67.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT traded up $4.01 during trading on Monday, hitting $85.80. 19,262,669 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,276,254. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $687.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.62, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart has a 12-month low of $58.56 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The business has a 50 day moving average of $93.10 and a 200-day moving average of $89.67.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total value of $195,052.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 398,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,288,807.84. This trade represents a 0.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 178,852 shares of company stock worth $16,785,080 in the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walmart

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors 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.