WAL-MART STORES INC. $64(New York symbol WMT; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 3.2 billion; Market cap: $204.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.4; Dividend yield: 3.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.walmart.com) is the world’s largest retailer, with 11,600 stores in 27 countries. It serves 260 million customers each week.
Wal-Mart recently said it would close 269 less profitable stores in the U.S. and other countries. Of that total, 154 are in the U.S. Internationally, it will close 115 stores, including 60 in Brazil.
The closures will free up cash Wal-Mart can use to pay for the 300 new stores it plans to open in the next year. It also continues to expand its e-commerce operations: online sales jumped 10% in its fiscal 2016 third quarter, which ended October 31, 2015.
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Wal-Mart’s recent decision to increase its U.S. employees’ wages will add to its costs and cut its projected earnings from $4.57 a share in fiscal 2016 to $4.14 in 2017. The stock trades at 15.5 times the 2017 estimate. However, the pay raises will improve Wal- Mart’s image and reduce employee turnover.
The company also stands to gain from the high U.S. dollar, which cuts the cost of imported goods, while low gasoline prices should give customers more money to spend in its stores. In addition, Wal-Mart will probably raise its dividend in early 2016; the current annual rate of $1.96 yields 3.0%.
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Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
The Successful Investor Inc. and its affiliate Successful Investor Wealth Management (referred to hereafter as TSI Network) know that you care how information about you is used and shared, and we appreciate your trust that we will do so carefully and sensibly. This notice describes our privacy policy. By visiting websites owned by or associated with TSI Network, you are accepting the practices described in this Privacy Policy.
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The information we receive from customers helps us personalize and continually improve your online experience at TSI Network. TSI Network may collect personal information online for all legal purposes, which include, but are not limited to:
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