Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) Cut to Accumulate at Gordon Haskett

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) was downgraded by Gordon Haskett from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

WMT has been the topic of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Walmart from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $142.00 target price on Walmart and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Erste Group Bank cut Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Walmart from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.50.

Walmart Stock Down 9.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:WMT traded down $10.98 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $103.32. 61,585,711 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 25,350,910. The firm has a market cap of $822.23 billion, a PE ratio of 36.25, a P/E/G ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.61. Walmart has a fifty-two week low of $95.42 and a fifty-two week high of $135.15. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $187.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.62 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 21.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.68 EPS. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 3,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.64, for a total transaction of $413,891.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 630,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,074,186.76. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.19, for a total value of $342,751.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 574,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,953,695.07. This trade represents a 0.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 54,164 shares of company stock worth $6,389,402. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Advisortrust Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 20.2% during the first quarter. Advisortrust Partners LLC now owns 67,142 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,344,000 after acquiring an additional 11,283 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA grew its position in shares of Walmart by 253.3% in the first quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 384,034 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $47,728,000 after purchasing an additional 275,337 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.9% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,416,580 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $300,333,000 after purchasing an additional 68,632 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 42.1% during the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 275,341 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,676,000 after purchasing an additional 81,635 shares during the period. Finally, HORAN Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 55.7% during the 1st quarter. HORAN Wealth LLC now owns 81,544 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,931,000 after purchasing an additional 29,184 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Key Walmart News

Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Walmart reported fiscal second-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.81 per share, above the $0.74 analyst consensus, while revenue rose 5.9% year over year to $187.94 billion, exceeding expectations. Walmart earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Growth businesses remained strong: global e-commerce sales increased 23%, global advertising revenue rose 38%, and membership fee revenue grew 17%. These trends support Walmart’s efforts to diversify beyond traditional stores. Walmart reports revenue growth
• Positive Sentiment: Walmart expects to use approximately $2.9 billion in tariff refunds to help lower prices beginning in the third quarter. The move could strengthen customer traffic and market share, although it may also limit future margin benefits. Walmart tariff refund price cuts
• Neutral Sentiment: Management raised full-year fiscal 2027 guidance, but the new outlook remains below Wall Street’s expectations: EPS of $2.80–$2.87 versus $2.89 expected, and revenue of $734.7–$741.7 billion versus $751.8 billion expected.
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. comparable sales increased just 2.6%, missing the 3.7% consensus estimate and marking Walmart’s weakest comparable-sales growth in more than six years. Reports cited softer consumer spending, elevated gas prices and weaker store performance. Walmart comparable sales miss
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter guidance was the main pressure point. Walmart forecast EPS of $0.62–$0.64 and revenue of $183.1–$184.5 billion, below estimates of $0.68 and $188.2 billion, respectively. The timing of Flipkart’s Big Billion Days promotion is expected to reduce third-quarter sales growth by more than 100 basis points. Walmart soft forecast

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.