Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) Stock Falls, RBC Capital Points to Risks
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) - Get Report shares are slipping 0.77% to $67.07 on Tuesday morning after RBC Capital Markets began coverage of the stock with an "underperform" rating in a bearish note issued to investors today.
The firm, which has a $66 price target, said a few risks to the company's profit and revenue include growing competition and the broader retailing shift towards e-commerce.
"Given this earnings uncertainty, multiple expansion seems unlikely in the near/mid-term," analysts said.
While recent store closures and labor investments are steps in the right direction, there needs to be more significant changes made like further simplifying the portfolio, the firm noted.
Based in Bentonville, AR, Wal-Mart Stores operates retail stores in various formats worldwide.
Separately, TheStreet Ratings currently has a "Buy" rating on the stock with a letter grade of A-.
The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its attractive valuation levels, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and notable return on equity. We feel its strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had somewhat weak growth in earnings per share.
Recently, TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this articles's author.
You can view the full analysis from the report here: WMT
