Walmart (NYSE:WMT) closed at $98.28 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.79% move from the prior day. This move was narrower than the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.9%. At the same time, the Dow lost 1.77%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 2.5%.
Coming into today, shares of the world's largest retailer had lost 0.33% in the past month. In that same time, the Retail-Wholesale sector gained 4.47%, while the S&P 500 gained 3.04%.
Wall Street will be looking for positivity from WMT as it approaches its next earnings report date. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.02, down 10.53% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $125.24 billion, up 2.08% from the prior-year quarter.
WMT's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $4.75 per share and revenue of $528.21 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -3.26% and +2.68%, respectively.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for WMT. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.06% higher. WMT is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Investors should also note WMT's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 20.84. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 15.27, so we one might conclude that WMT is trading at a premium comparatively.
It is also worth noting that WMT currently has a PEG ratio of 4.56. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. WMT's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.44 as of yesterday's close.
The Retail - Supermarkets industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 16, putting it in the top 7% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
To follow WMT in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
Walmart Inc. (WMT): Free Stock Analysis Report
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