Benzinga - by Zacks, Benzinga Contributor.
In the latest market close, Walmart (NYSE: WMT) reached $60.24, with a +0.13% movement compared to the previous day. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.32%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.38%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.35%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the world's largest retailer had lost 0.02% over the past month. This has was narrower than the Retail-Wholesale sector's loss of 1.39% and the S&P 500's loss of 2% in that time.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Walmart in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is scheduled to release its earnings on May 16, 2024. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $0.52, indicating a 6.12% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $158.89 billion, showing a 4.33% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $2.36 per share and a revenue of $671.5 billion, demonstrating changes of +6.31% and +3.61%, respectively, from the preceding year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Walmart. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the company's business and profitability.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained steady. Right now, Walmart possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In the context of valuation, Walmart is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 25.54. This indicates a premium in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 12.32.
Investors should also note that WMT has a PEG ratio of 3.93 right now. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Retail - Supermarkets industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.38 as trading concluded yesterday.
The Retail - Supermarkets industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 95, positioning it in the top 38% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.
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