Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Releases Q2 Earnings Guidance

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) issued an update on its second quarter earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of $0.62-0.65 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $0.64. The company issued revenue guidance of +3.5-4.5% yr/yr to $167.29-168.58 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $167.62 billion. Walmart also updated its FY 2025 guidance to 2.370- EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, February 19th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Stifel Europe boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Walmart to $66.67 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $61.97.

Walmart Stock Up 6.1 %

WMT stock traded up $3.63 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $63.46. 31,844,223 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,463,990. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $60.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.36. Walmart has a 52 week low of $48.34 and a 52 week high of $64.22. The company has a market cap of $511.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.49.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 21.08%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.2075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 43.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.78, for a total transaction of $117,560.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 656,395,261 shares in the company, valued at $38,582,913,441.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.78, for a total value of $117,560.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 656,395,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,582,913,441.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total transaction of $177,240.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 521,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,816,896.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock valued at $1,696,045,631. Corporate insiders own 46.51% 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.