Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Upgraded by Freedom Capital to Strong-Buy Rating

Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also commented on WMT. Evercore set a $125.00 price objective on Walmart in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Walmart from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target (down from $140.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $126.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.88.

Walmart Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ:WMT opened at $103.70 on Thursday. Walmart has a 12 month low of $95.42 and a 12 month high of $135.15. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.35 and a 200-day simple 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. The company has a market capitalization of $825.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.44, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.61.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last issued 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. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.83% and a net margin of 3.00%.The company had revenue of $187.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, Director C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director owned 4,174,579 shares in the company, valued at $495,230,306.77. The trade was a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.64, for a total value of $413,891.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 630,009 shares in the company, valued at $69,074,186.76. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 57,064 shares of company stock valued at $6,697,788. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 57.4% during the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Sankala Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Turim 21 Investimentos Ltda. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the first quarter worth $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.