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Walmart (WMT) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Walmart (WMT - Free Report) closed at $142.63, marking a +0.14% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.24% gain on the day.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the world's largest retailer had gained 2.82% over the past month. This has outpaced the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 0.22% and lagged the S&P 500's gain of 4.09% in that time.

WMT will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be August 17, 2021. In that report, analysts expect WMT to post earnings of $1.53 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 1.92%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $135.81 billion, down 1.41% from the prior-year quarter.

WMT's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $5.95 per share and revenue of $551.81 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +8.58% and -1.31%, respectively.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for WMT should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. 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.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. WMT is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

In terms of valuation, WMT is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 23.92. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 13.13.

We can also see that WMT currently has a PEG ratio of 4.35. 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 1.31 at yesterday's closing price.

The Retail - Supermarkets industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 213, putting it in the bottom 17% 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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