Is it smart to invest in Walmart stock?
Is WMT a Buy, Sell or Hold? Walmart has a conensus rating of Strong Buy which is based on 25 buy ratings, 3 hold ratings and 0 sell ratings. The average price target for Walmart is $65.73. This is based on 28 Wall Streets Analysts 12-month price targets, issued in the past 3 months.
From fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2026, analysts expect Walmart's revenue to rise at a CAGR of 4% as its EPS grows at a CAGR of 35%. Its stock still looks reasonably valued at 26 times forward earnings, its dividend offers a decent forward yield of 1.4%, and management has raised the payout annually for 51 consecutive years.
Trading plan for 2024
the key support levels: 164.74, 151.25, 134.59, 115.82, 91.79; the key resistance levels: 181.16, 195.81, 212.43; Walmart's stock will most likely continue to evolve in an uptrend in 2024. The buyer will hold the price within the range of a bullish trend.
The Winner: Target
With a valuation less than half as rich as Walmart, and a more attractive dividend yield, investors should be willing to bear a little more risk for Target. Things can always change, so remember to review your stock holdings on a regular basis.
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An investment of $1,000 at the start of 1980 would be worth over $1.9 million today. Watch Walmart stock trade in real time here.
At that price, investors are paying a lot for Walmart's modest growth prospects. Walmart is a safe stock that has a long track record of raising its dividend, but investors should understand that that's what they're paying up for. For the right kind of investor, Walmart is a smart buy.
This part of its business produced fiscal 2024 revenue of $114.6 billion, up over 13% from 2023. A long history of dividends adds the icing on the cake, providing a source of passive income. These various factors combine to make Walmart a worthy long-term investment.
Walmart isn't known for its impressive profit margins, but the chain's earnings power is improving. Operating income spiked in the past year and is projected to outpace revenue again in 2024. It's great news for the business, meanwhile, that these gains arrived even as the company cuts prices amid strong sales growth.
| Stock | 2024 return through March 31 |
|---|---|
| MicroStrategy Inc. (MSTR) | 169.9% |
| SoundHound AI Inc. (SOUN) | 177.8% |
| Vera Therapeutics Inc. (VERA) | 180.4% |
| Avidity Biosciences Inc. (RNA) | 182% |
Is Walmart or Costco a better stock?
While Costco appears to have the best growth prospects, that isn't enough to make it the best investment. Walmart trades at a lower valuation, and its higher dividend yield means you will receive more in dividend payments than you would on the same amount of money invested in Costco. That makes Walmart the winner.
The average price target represents 3.62% Increase from the current price of $177.21. What do analysts say about Target? Target's analyst rating consensus is a Moderate Buy.
Sales growth has averaged more than 5% year-over-year in recent quarters. With a return to growth, the market has assigned Walmart a more premium valuation. Today, shares trade at roughly 0.75 times sales -- nearly double its 2016 low. WMT PS Ratio data by YCharts.
| Stock | Sector | Trailing 12-month dividend yield* |
|---|---|---|
| Stanley Black & Decker Inc. (SWK) | Industrials | 3.5% |
| Atmos Energy Corp. (ATO) | Utilities | 2.7% |
| T. Rowe Price Group Inc. (TROW) | Financials | 4.3% |
| Chevron Corp. (CVX) | Energy | 3.9% |
| Company (ticker) | Analysts' consensus recommendation score | Analysts' consensus recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon.com (AMZN) | 1.30 | Strong Buy |
| Microsoft (MSFT) | 1.32 | Strong Buy |
| Delta Air Lines (DAL) | 1.35 | Strong Buy |
| Nvidia (NVDA) | 1.38 | Strong Buy |
| Company (Ticker) | Forward P/E Ratio |
|---|---|
| Alphabet, Inc. (GOOG, GOOGL) | 22.1 |
| Citigroup, Inc. (C) | 8.4 |
| Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. (FIS) | 15.3 |
| Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (ISRG) | 60.9 |
Walmart stock could be a good pick for some investors but not for others. If you're an aggressive investor focused on growth stocks, Walmart might not be ideal for you. The company's fastest growth is probably in its past. Value investors might not like Walmart all that much, either.
And if you had invested $1,000 into Walmart a decade ago, your investment would have more than doubled in value and be worth about $2,443 as of Nov.
30, 2024 — Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) announced that it will conduct a split of its outstanding shares of common stock at a ratio of 3:1. The stock split is part of Walmart's ongoing review of optimal trading and spread levels and its desire for its associates to feel that purchasing shares is easily within reach.
There are about 10,500 Walmart locations across 20 different countries. Jim Walton, Alice Walton, and Rob Walton are the top three individual shareholders of Walmart. Walmart's largest institutional investors include the John T. Walton Estate Trust, Vanguard Group, and BlackRock.
Why do people invest in Walmart stock?
Stability and Brand Name. With Walmart, it is pretty well-known what an investor is going to get from an operational perspective. Walmart remains a stable company that should be viewed as a long-term blue-chip investment. Roughly 75% of Walmart's store management began their careers as hourly employees with the company ...
What percentage of Walmart (WMT) stock is held by institutional investors? Jim Walton owns the most shares of Walmart (WMT).
Buying just one share of stock may seem like a small investment, but it can set you on the right path for future investment decisions and meeting your personal finance goals. An advantage of purchasing only one share is that, for the most part, it's a low-cost way to gain exposure to the stock market.
As for why Walmart decided to split its stock, the company said it wanted to lower WMT's share price so it was easier for its employees to purchase shares in the company via its employee stock purchase plan.
Ten Year Stock Price Total Return for Walmart is calculated as follows: Last Close Price [ 60.14 ] / Adj Prior Close Price [ 21.09 ] (-) 1 (=) Total Return [ 185.2% ] Prior price dividend adjustment factor is 0.81.
