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The latest trading session saw Walmart (WMT) ending at $93.08, denoting a +1.24% adjustment from its last day's close. The stock's performance was ahead of the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.88%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 1.24%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.65%.
Heading into today, shares of the world's largest retailer had gained 1.76% over the past month, outpacing the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 0.92% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.17% in that time.
Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Walmart in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to be unveiled on February 20, 2025. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $0.64, indicating a 6.67% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $179.28 billion, showing a 3.4% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.
Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $2.47 per share and revenue of $679.45 billion, indicating changes of +11.26% and +4.83%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Walmart. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.
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.
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 has remained steady. Walmart is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
From a valuation perspective, Walmart is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 37.16. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 13.15.
We can additionally observe that WMT currently boasts a PEG ratio of 4.36. 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. Retail - Supermarkets stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.27 based on yesterday's closing prices.