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Walmart (WMT) Stock Drops Despite Market Gains: Important Facts to Note

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In the latest market close, Walmart (WMT - Free Report) reached $164.30, with a -0.81% movement compared to the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.1%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.12%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.08%.

The world's largest retailer's stock has climbed by 5.11% in the past month, falling short of the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 6.02% and outpacing the S&P 500's gain of 1.72%.

Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Walmart in its upcoming release. The company plans to announce its earnings on November 16, 2023. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $1.51, reflecting a 0.67% increase from the same quarter last year. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $159.09 billion, indicating a 4.11% upward movement from the same quarter last year.

For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $6.45 per share and a revenue of $641.84 billion, representing changes of +2.54% and +5%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Walmart. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the company's business performance and profit potential.

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, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.08% higher. Walmart is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

From a valuation perspective, Walmart is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 25.69. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 13.88, which means Walmart is trading at a premium to the group.

We can also see that WMT currently has a PEG ratio of 3.91. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. The Retail - Supermarkets industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.41 as trading concluded yesterday.

The Retail - Supermarkets industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 157, positioning it in the bottom 38% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.


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