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

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Walmart (WMT - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $147.51, moving +0.9% from the previous trading session. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.15% loss on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.07%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.07%.

Investors will be hoping for strength from WMT as it approaches its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect WMT to post earnings of $1.47 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 6.52%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $146.42 billion, up 3.35% from the year-ago period.

WMT's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $5.55 per share and revenue of $555.06 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +12.58% and +5.93%, respectively.

It is also important to note the 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.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, 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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.08% higher within the past month. WMT is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, WMT is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 26.37. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 22.45.

Meanwhile, WMT's PEG ratio is currently 4.79. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Retail - Supermarkets was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.76 at yesterday's closing price.

The Retail - Supermarkets industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 84, which puts it in the top 33% 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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