You have to hand it to retail giant Walmart (WMT). Despite the fact that it has already pared down its ordering ahead of Christmas, it still expects blockbuster sales. In fact, Walmart is looking for some of the best sales figures its had in years.
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The optimistic sales expectations come as WMT stock is on track for its best gains since 1999, thanks to current economic conditions. With customers pivoting to Walmart instead of more expensive options, the company is winning as a value provider.
Walmart shares are up about 65% for the year, which is blowing away the S&P 500 Consumer Staples sector. By comparison, that whole field has delivered a 13% year-to-date gain. The last time Walmart saw results like this was back in 1999, when shares rose 70%. Walmart is riding this combination of a tailor-made environment, low debt load, and a strong balance sheet all the way to popularity with shareholders.
The Black Friday Rundown
At the same time, Walmart is looking forward to Black Friday to deliver the slam dunk to an already impressive year. Its first sales event kicked off online last week. A second Black Friday event will start in coming days.
The actual Black Friday event will begin at 6 a.m. on November 29. Be prepared for a set of explosive and eclectic, deals, including $50 off a Flybar Disney Bluey bumper car ride-on toy, $250 off a Dyson V11 Extra cordless vacuum cleaner, and $120 off a Revolve360 Slim 2-in-1 rotational car seat.
Is Walmart Stock a Good Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on WMT stock based on 28 Buys and one Hold assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 64.52% rally in its share price over the past year, the average WMT price target of $86.43 per share implies 3.02% upside from current levels.
