Time to Buy Walmart or Target Stock as Q3 Earnings Approach?

Third-quarter results from retail giants Walmart WMT and Target TGT will be a highlight of this week’s earnings lineup.  Both omnichannel retailers are expected to post sound quarterly growth with Walmart and Target set to release their Q3 reports on Tuesday, November 19, and Wednesday, November 20, respectively.   Walmart Q3 Expectations Based on Zacks estimates, Walmart’s Q3 sales are expected to be up 4% to $167.49 billion. On the bottom line, Walmart’s Q4 EPS is projected to increase 4% as well to $0.53 versus $0.51 a year ago. Walmart most recently surpassed Q2 earnings expectations by 3% in August with EPS at $0.67 compared to estimates of $0.65. Notably, Walmart has reached or exceeded the Zacks EPS Consensus for nine consecutive quarters posting an average earnings surprise of 6.89% in its last four quarterly reports.Image Source: Zacks Investment Research  Target Q3 ExpectationsStarting to reach its goals of curving inventory shrink, Target’s Q3 sales are projected to increase 2% to $25.94 billion. More importantly, Target’s Q3 EPS is expected to rise 9% to $2.29 versus $2.10 in the comparative quarter.Target most recently beat Q2 EPS estimates by nearly 19% in August with earnings at $2.57 per share compared to expectations of $2.16. Target has surpassed the Zacks EPS Consensus in three of its last four quarterly reports posting a very impressive average earnings surprise of 20.26%.Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Tracking WMT & TGT: Price Performance Thanks to its low-cost offerings, consumers have gravitated toward Walmart amid higher inflation in recent years with the company also seeing considerable expansion in its online sales. This has been a primary catalyst to Walmart’s enhanced financial performance and ability to take market share with WMT soaring +60% year to date compared to the benchmark S&P 500’s +23% and Target’s +10%.Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Valuation ComparisonWhile Walmart’s stock has had a clear edge in terms of price performance, Target shares have stood out in terms of valuation. To that point, Target’s stock trades at 15.9X forward earnings which is a pleasant discount to the benchmark’s 24.8X with Walmart at 34.4X.  Furthermore, Target trades nicely beneath its decade-long high of 30.4X forward earnings and at a slight discount to its decade-median of 16.2X. As for Walmart, WMT trades on par with its own decade-long high of 34.7X but above the median of 22X during this period. Reassuringly, Walmart and Target both trade at the optimum level of less than 2X sales.Image Source: Zacks Investment Research WMT & TGT Dividends In regards to dividends, Target has the edge here as well with a 2.95% annual yield that tops Walmart’s 0.99% and the S&P 500’s 1.22% average.Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Bottom LineAhead of their Q3 reports, Target’s stock sports a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) with Walmart landing a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Magnifying Target’s more attractive P/E valuation is that earnings estimate revisions are noticeably higher over the last 90 days for its current fiscal 2025.Meanwhile, Walmart’s current FY25 EPS estimates have remained unchanged in the last three months although both retail giants are expecting steady growth on their bottom lines for the foreseeable future.Only $1 to See All Zacks' Buys and SellsWe're not kidding.Several years ago, we shocked our members by offering them 30-day access to all our picks for the total sum of only $1. No obligation to spend another cent.Thousands have taken advantage of this opportunity. Thousands did not - they thought there must be a catch. Yes, we do have a reason. We want you to get acquainted with our portfolio services like Surprise Trader, Stocks Under $10, Technology Innovators,and more, that closed 228 positions with double- and triple-digit gains in 2023 alone.See Stocks Now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Target Corporation (TGT): Free Stock Analysis Report Walmart Inc. (WMT): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks