The most recent trading session ended with Walmart (WMT) standing at $67.91, reflecting a -0.15% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. This change was narrower than the S&P 500's 0.16% loss on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.04%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 0.18%.

The the stock of world's largest retailer has risen by 4.89% in the past month, leading the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 1% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.15%.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Walmart in its upcoming release. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $0.65, showcasing a 6.56% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $168.38 billion, showing a 4.18% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $2.42 per share and revenue of $675.38 billion, which would represent changes of +9.01% and +4.21%, respectively, from the prior year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Walmart. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 0.05% rise in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Walmart currently has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Digging into valuation, Walmart currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 28.07. This denotes a premium relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 12.19.

Investors should also note that WMT has a PEG ratio of 3.92 right now. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. As the market closed yesterday, the Retail - Supermarkets industry was having an average PEG ratio of 1.9.

The Retail - Supermarkets industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 55, which puts it in the top 22% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

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