Vetr lowered shares of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) from a sell rating to a strong sell rating in a research note released on Monday. Vetr currently has $64.26 price objective on the retailer’s stock.
A number of other analysts have also weighed in on WMT. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of Wal-Mart Stores in a report on Saturday, May 13th. UBS AG reissued a neutral rating and issued a $80.00 price target (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Wal-Mart Stores in a research note on Sunday, May 21st. BidaskClub cut shares of Wal-Mart Stores from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 12th. Jefferies Group LLC set a $88.00 price target on shares of Wal-Mart Stores and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Pacific Crest cut shares of Wal-Mart Stores to a hold rating in a research note on Sunday, April 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Wal-Mart Stores currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $78.11.
Shares of Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE:WMT) opened at 75.87 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $76.76 and its 200 day moving average is $72.85. The firm has a market cap of $228.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.23 and a beta of 0.28. Wal-Mart Stores has a 52-week low of $65.28 and a 52-week high of $80.47.
Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 18th. The retailer reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $116.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.01 billion. Wal-Mart Stores had a net margin of 2.79% and a return on equity of 16.96%. Wal-Mart Stores’s revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Wal-Mart Stores will post $4.36 earnings per share for the current year.
TRADEMARK VIOLATION WARNING: “Vetr Inc. Downgrades Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) to Strong Sell” was originally published by StockNewsTimes and is the property of of StockNewsTimes. If you are viewing this news story on another site, it was illegally stolen and republished in violation of United States & international trademark and copyright laws. The original version of this news story can be viewed at https://stocknewstimes.com/2017/07/20/vetr-inc-downgrades-wal-mart-stores-inc-nysewmt-to-strong-sell.html.
In other Wal-Mart Stores news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,576,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.65, for a total transaction of $202,627,882.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,748,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $530,775,817. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 3,278,735 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.00, for a total transaction of $259,020,065.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,507,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $830,070,696. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,006,720 shares of company stock valued at $1,816,131,604. 51.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. TrimTabs Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Wal-Mart Stores by 89.2% in the first quarter. TrimTabs Asset Management LLC now owns 1,476 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. Asset Planning Services Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Wal-Mart Stores by 0.7% in the first quarter. Asset Planning Services Ltd. now owns 1,511 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Genovese Burford & Brothers Wealth & Retirement Plan Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Wal-Mart Stores by 6,777.8% in the fourth quarter. Genovese Burford & Brothers Wealth & Retirement Plan Management LLC now owns 114,171 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 112,511 shares during the last quarter. High Point Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Wal-Mart Stores by 71.9% in the fourth quarter. High Point Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,960 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wal-Mart Stores by 75.2% in the first quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,099 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $151,000 after buying an additional 901 shares during the last quarter. 30.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wal-Mart Stores Company Profile
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc is engaged in the operation of retail, wholesale and other units in various formats around the world. The Company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International and Sam’s Club. The Walmart U.S. segment includes its mass merchant concept in the United States operating under the Walmart or Wal-Mart brands, as well as digital retail.
To view Vetr’s full report, visit Vetr’s official website.
Receive News & Ratings for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
