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Walmart (WMT) Declines More Than Market: Some Information for Investors

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The most recent trading session ended with Walmart (WMT - Free Report) standing at $168.66, reflecting a -0.54% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.32%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.71%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.2%.

Coming into today, shares of the world's largest retailer had gained 8.21% in the past month. In that same time, the Retail-Wholesale sector gained 5.56%, while the S&P 500 gained 4.59%.

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 February 20, 2024. On that day, Walmart is projected to report earnings of $1.63 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 4.68%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $170.21 billion, up 3.75% from the year-ago period.

It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for Walmart. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.

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 last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.13% lower. Currently, Walmart is carrying a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).

In terms of valuation, Walmart is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 24.29. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 13.12.

Investors should also note that WMT has a PEG ratio of 3.32 right now. 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. The Retail - Supermarkets industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.03 as trading concluded yesterday.

The Retail - Supermarkets industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 88, positioning it in the top 35% 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.

Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.


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