Brokers Issue Forecasts for Walmart’s Q1 Earnings (NYSE:WMT)

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) – Research analysts at Roth Capital decreased their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for Walmart in a note issued to investors on Friday, February 21st. Roth Capital analyst W. Kirk now expects that the retailer will earn $0.61 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $0.69. The consensus estimate for Walmart’s current full-year earnings is $2.55 per share. Roth Capital also issued estimates for Walmart’s Q2 2026 earnings at $0.72 EPS and Q2 2026 earnings at $0.72 EPS.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Walmart from $113.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.07.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $97.81 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $95.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.10. The company has a market capitalization of $785.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.59, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart has a 1-year low of $58.18 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion during 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%.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 146,528 shares of company stock valued at $13,849,185 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walmart

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 479.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,492,200,000 after buying an additional 15,290,936 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,893,079,000 after acquiring an additional 3,927,173 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Walmart

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.