Analysts continued to check-out U.S. retail giant Walmart (WMT) after its mixed Q2 earnings last week, with one dancing in the supermarket aisles.
Elevate Your Investing Strategy:
- Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence.
Earnings Upside
Roth Capital Markets analyst Bill Kirk kept his Buy rating on the stock and a $108 target price. Although Q2 earnings missed expectations, Kirk is confident that an earnings upside is just around the corner in Q3.
“Increased insurance claim expenses were a surprise, but we believe that the consistency and profit and loss leverage that investors crave will return,” he said. “We still see the same, unique opportunities around: automation; advertising; reach; advanced tech; and consumer proposition.”
Walmart reported adjusted earnings per share for the period of $0.68, missing forecasts of $0.74. Operating income dropped 8.2% to $7.2 billion.
Revenues rose 4.8% to $177.4 billion, surpassing expectations of around $175 billion. U.S. same-store sales rocked up 4.6%, helped by strong demand for grocery, health and wellness and more pricing rollbacks given the uncertain economic picture.
Rare Combination
“There is no change to the business itself,” added Kirk. “Just continued market share gains and widening moats. Walmart’s automatization opportunities, data capabilities, and consumer proposition are a rare combination that supports market share gains and increased profitability. To that end, Walmart is unequivocally committed to growing profits faster than sales.”
TipRanks AI analyst has an Outperform rating and $108 price target. Our AI egghead believes that Walmart’s strong financial performance and strategic initiatives in e-commerce and technology are significant strengths.
However, the high P/E ratio and modest dividend yield suggest valuation concerns. “The earnings call provided a balanced view of growth prospects and challenges, contributing positively to the overall score,” the AI analyst said.
Is WMT a Good Stock to Buy Now?
On TipRanks, WMT has a Strong Buy consensus based on 29 Buy ratings. Its highest price target is $127. WMT stock’s consensus price target is $113.89, implying an 18.02% upside.
