Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) will report its third-quarter earnings Thursday before the market open. Thomson Reuters has consensus estimates of $1.12 in earnings per share and $118.35 billion in revenue. In the third quarter of the previous year, it posted $1.14 in earnings per share and $115.69 billion in revenue.
The company recently announced that it is taking Black Friday to the next level, calling it the “New Black Friday.” Instead of the sales lasting only for one day, Walmart is extending the deeply discounted Black Friday sales over five days, each day offering heavy discounts and even some specially tailored events. On Thanksgiving Day in 2013, Walmart served 22 million customers, and it is preparing to serve even more over the course of its new Black Friday sale.
Duncan Mac Naughton, chief merchandising officer of Walmart U.S., said:
Black Friday is no longer about waking up at the crack of dawn to stand in long lines and hope for the best. At Walmart, its become a family shopping tradition where everyone shops at some point throughout the weekend. This year, we’re blowing it out with five days of deals in store and online. We’ll have crazy low prices on the gifts our customers want.
What about Wall Street analysts and their opinion of Walmart? Sterne Agee initiated coverage of Walmart with a Neutral rating and a price target of $70.00, on November 3. Jefferies reiterated a Hold rating for Walmart but lowered its price target to $72.00 from $76.00, on October 17.
Walmart crossed under both the 50-day and 200-day moving averages during the market sell-off in mid-October. A week after crossing under, Walmart bounced back up to test the 50-day moving average, which turned into strong support by the end of October. The 50-day moving average reads at $76.72 and the 200-day moving average is $75.59.
Shares of Walmart were even with Tuesday’s close at $79.01 in the first hour of trading. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $78.82 and a 52-week trading range of $72.27 to $81.37. The company has a market cap near $254 billion.
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