Topic: How To Invest

What is Pat’s commentary for the week of September 9, 2015

Article Excerpt

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., $65.64, symbol WMT on New York (Shares outstanding: 3.2 billion; Market cap: $213.8 billion; www.walmart.com), has had a particularly steep downturn this year, from a January peak near $91, to an August low below $62. The drop began while the rest of the U.S. market was largely moving sideways. The company did have a slight earnings decline in its first and second quarters, somewhat deeper than anticipated. But the plunge in the stock seems out of proportion. The stock price drop may be related to Wal-Mart’s mid-February announcement that it would raise the minimum wage it pays in the U.S. from $9 to $10 an hour. Its $9 minimum rate was already $1.75 or 24.1% above the $7.25 minimum per hour that is federally mandated across the country. The raise only affects the company’s lowest-paid U.S. employees, but it still applies to 40% of its 1.3 million workforce. The company also said it would make scheduling of hours…