But Wal-Mart was able to defy this trend in the second quarter, primarily due to its value reputation. It was good not so much in terms of the nominal results (which did beat expectations on the top and bottom lines), but because the company showed progress on key initiatives, and in doing so, answered some questions about its ability to compete going forward. Stronger pharmacy sales were the result of the increased price of brand-name drugs and the growth in the number of filled prescriptions.
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On the company’s financial health, Wal-Mart Stores reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the analyst consensus estimate by $ 0.05 according to the earnings call on Aug 18, 2016. This is impressive when you consider the impact of food deflation, which lowered the comp by 100 basis points.
Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon said Thursday that the retailer’s strategy is working in US stores, which reported $76.2 billion in net sales for the quarter, a 3.1 percent increase from a year ago. But Wal-Mart was able to buck this trend. 122 funds bought stakes while 497 increased positions.
They now have a $76 target price on Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT). Company shares were Reiterated by Telsey Advisory Group on Aug 19, 2016 to “Market Perform”, Firm has raised the Price Target to $ 78 from a previous price target of $71.Wal-Mart Stores was Downgraded by Northcoast to ” Neutral” on Jul 12, 2016. Investments in mobile payment infrastructure, expanded product offerings, and improved supply chain efficiency have helped create a more seamless and convenient shopping experience. For the next 5 years, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.is expecting Growth of 2.48% per annum, whereas in the past 5 years the growth was 0.78% per annum. Wal-Mart’s biggest threat, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), has been so successful because it offers customers an unmatched combination of value and convenience. Company has 0.60% insider ownership. Net earnings were $573 million, up from $541 million in the prior year.
Excluding a non-cash gain from the sale of Wal-Mart’s e-commerce business in China and other items, earnings per share came to US$1.07 in the second quarter ended on July 31. Company net profit margin stands at 23.50% whereas its return on equity (ROE) is 49.60%.
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Wal-Mart U.S accounts for more than 60 percent of the retailer’s overall business. “They are engaged in the operation of mass merchandising stores, which serve their customers primarily through the operation of three segments, which are the Wal-Mart Stores segment, the SAM’S Club segment and the worldwide segment”. The company has started investing heavily in online platforms to expand its reach beyond physical stores. Q2 marked the 8th consecutive quarter of positive comp sales and the 7th consecutive quarter of positive foot traffic in the core USA business. The rating score is on a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 stands for strong buy and 5 stands for sell The mean price target for the shares of company is at $70.19 while the highest price target suggested by the analysts is $85.00 and low price target is $51.00. “Wal-Mart’s advantage has always been in providing the lowest prices on a basket, and Jet has created a unique way to deliver the lowest cost basket online”. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
