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Walmart (WMT) closed the latest trading day at $69.72, indicating a +0.69% change from the previous session's end. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.28%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 0.53%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 0.4%.

The world's largest retailer's shares have seen an increase of 3.31% over the last month, surpassing the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 1.3% and falling behind the S&P 500's gain of 3.78%.

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 August 15, 2024. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $0.65, reflecting a 6.56% increase from the same quarter last year. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $168.4 billion, reflecting a 4.19% rise from the equivalent quarter last year.

In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $2.43 per share and a revenue of $675.88 billion, indicating changes of +9.46% and +4.28%, respectively, from the former year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Walmart should also be noted by investors. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.01% higher. Walmart is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking at valuation, Walmart is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 28.55. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 12.93, so one might conclude that Walmart is trading at a premium comparatively.

Also, we should mention that WMT has a PEG ratio of 3.99. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Retail - Supermarkets industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.94 as trading concluded yesterday.

The Retail - Supermarkets industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 12, this industry ranks in the top 5% of all industries, numbering over 250.

The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow WMT in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.

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