Dow Today: Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) Lower

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) is trading down 46 points (-0.4%) at 12,919 as of Wednesday, Feb 22, 2012, 11:35 a.m. ET. During this time, 274.3 million shares of the 30 Dow components have changed hands vs. an average daily trading volume of 818.6 million. The NYSE advances/declines ratio sits at 1,061 issues advancing vs. 1,843 declining with 124 unchanged.

Holding back the Dow today is Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE:WMT), which is lagging the broader Dow index with a $1.65 decline (-2.8%) bringing the stock to $58.42. This single loss is lowering the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 12.49 points or roughly accounting for 27.2% of the Dow's overall loss. Volume for Wal-Mart Stores currently sits at 12.8 million shares traded vs. an average daily trading volume of 9.5 million shares.

Wal-Mart Stores has a market cap of $210.24 billion and is part of the services sector and retail industry. Shares are up 0.5% year to date as of Tuesday's close. The stock's dividend yield sits at 2.3%.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates retail stores in various formats worldwide. The company's Walmart U.S. The company has a P/E ratio of 14.1, above the average retail industry P/E ratio of 13.1 and below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7.

TheStreet Ratings rates Wal-Mart Stores as a buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, notable return on equity, solid stock price performance, good cash flow from operations and growth in earnings per share. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company shows low profit margins.

• You can view the full Wal-Mart Stores Ratings Report.

For more information on Wal-Mart Stores Inc click any of the following:

• Wal-Mart Stores Inc Stock Price

• Wal-Mart Stores Inc Analyst Ratings

• Wal-Mart Stores Inc Key Stats & Profile

• Wal-Mart Stores Inc Earnings

• Wal-Mart Stores Inc Ratio Comparison

• Wal-Mart Stores Inc Growth Rates

• Wal-Mart Stores Inc Balance Sheet

• Wal-Mart Stores Inc Cash Flow

• Wal-Mart Stores Inc Income Statement