Sam Boughedda

Investing.com – Walmart Inc (NYSE: high grocery exposure and commitment to keeping prices low for consumers make it one of the most defensive names in RBC Capital’s coverage universe, analyst Steven Shemesh said Friday. 

Shemesh reiterated its outperform rating on Walmart ahead of the earnings bell. 

After using NumeratorInsights data for project sales, the RBC Capital analyst performed an assessment. He stated that this has been a historically reliable method. There was a 90% correlation between the sales of Walmart and ours. 

Analyst said that the comparable sales for the first quarter were +2.5% as compared to the consensus of +1.8%.

He added that based on industry read-through, they “believe growth slowed throughout April as the company lapped stimulus/unemployment benefits and as inflationary pressures adversely impacted consumption trends.” 

For 1Q, Walmart U.S. comp growth is +2% (cons. +1.8%), and EPS at $1.46 (cons. $1.48). Shemesh stated that based on channel research, she believes our estimates are fair.”

Walmart shares have fallen 0.25 percent after initially climbing on Friday.