Why the Market Dipped But Walmart (WMT) Gained Today
Walmart (WMT) ended the recent trading session at $81.65, demonstrating a +1.69% swing from the preceding day's closing price. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.76%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a loss of 0.75%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 1.01%.
The world's largest retailer's shares have seen a decrease of 0.34% over the last month, not keeping up with the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 3.42% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.31%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Walmart in its upcoming release. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $0.53, marking a 3.92% rise compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $167.55 billion, indicating a 4.19% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $2.44 per share and revenue of $678.74 billion, indicating changes of +9.91% and +4.72%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Walmart should also be noted by investors. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the company's business performance and profit potential.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. Walmart is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
Looking at its valuation, Walmart is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 32.94. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 14.4.
One should further note that WMT currently holds a PEG ratio of 4.02. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The average PEG ratio for the Retail - Supermarkets industry stood at 1.95 at the close of the market yesterday.
The Retail - Supermarkets industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 24, placing it within the top 10% of over 250 industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.
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Walmart Inc. (WMT) : Free Stock Analysis Report