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Walmart (WMT) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know

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Walmart (WMT - Free Report) closed at $95.84 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.09% move from the prior day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.04%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.33%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.51%.

Heading into today, shares of the world's largest retailer had gained 0.6% over the past month, lagging the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 1.63% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.79% in that time.

WMT will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be November 15, 2018. In that report, analysts expect WMT to post earnings of $1.03 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 3%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $124.18 billion, up 0.81% from the year-ago period.

WMT's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $4.80 per share and revenue of $513.64 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +8.6% and +2.66%, respectively.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for WMT. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. 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 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. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.46% higher. WMT is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Investors should also note WMT's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 19.96. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 17.75.

We can also see that WMT currently has a PEG ratio of 3.37. 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 currently had an average PEG ratio of 2.28 as of yesterday's close.

The Retail - Supermarkets industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 75, which puts it in the top 29% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual 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.


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