WMT

WAL-MART STORES INC. $54 (New York symbol WMT; Conservative Growth Portfolio: Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 3.6 billion; Market cap: $194.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.5; Dividend yield: 2.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.walmart.com) is buying 51% of South Africa’s Massmart Holdings Ltd., which operates 288 department stores in 14 African countries. In September 2010, the company made a non-binding offer to …read more »

WAL-MART STORES INC. $56 (New York symbol WMT; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 3.8 billion; Market cap: $212.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.5; Dividend yield: 2.2%; WSSF Rating: Above Average) is the world’s largest retailer. The company has over 8,400 stores in the U.S. and 14 other countries, including over 2,700 supercentres, which sell groceries as well as general …read more »

The retailing industry is fiercely competitive. But leading retailers like Wal-Mart and PetSmart have special advantages that give them an edge.

For example, Wal-Mart’s huge size lets it extract low prices from suppliers all over the world.

PetSmart is much smaller that Wal-Mart, so it doesn’t have the same sway over its suppliers. However, PetSmart’s focus on high-quality products and specialized services …read more »

WAL-MART STORES INC. $49 (New York symbol WMT; Conservative Growth Portfolio; Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 3.9 billion; Market cap: $191.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.5; WSSF Rating: Above Average) uses its clout as the world’s largest retailer to pry big price discounts from its suppliers. The company is also putting pressure on its suppliers to help it pursue several “green” initiatives …read more »

ALLIANT ENERGY CORP. $29 (New York symbol LNT; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 110.5 million; Market cap: $3.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; WSSF Rating: Average) expects that it earned $2.65 a share in 2008. However, earnings for 2009 will likely drop to between $2.18 and $2.48 a share as the slowing economy has hurt electricity demand. The stock now …read more »

WAL-MART STORES INC. $57 (New York symbol WMT; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 3.9 billion; Market cap: $222.3 billion; WSSF Rating: Above average) is the world’s largest retailer with over 7,400 stores in the United States and 13 other countries. It serves over 175 million customers each week.

The company has three main divisions: the Wal-Mart division operates 3,630 …read more »

Wal-Mart’s sales and earnings have jumped by over 70% since the last economic downturn in 2001. Despite this growth, the stock’s p/e has dropped to around 16 from 35. That’s mainly because the stock stayed in narrow range, as rising prosperity prompted shoppers to switch to more upscale stores.

Now that the economy is slowing, Wal-Mart’s low prices will once again …read more »

WAL-MART STORES INC. $59 (New York symbol WMT; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 3.9 billion; Market cap: $230.1 billion; WSSF Rating: Above average) earned $0.86 a share in its second fiscal quarter ended July 31, 2008, up 14.7% from $0.75 a year earlier. If you exclude one-time gains in the year-earlier quarter, earnings grew 21.1%. Sales rose 10.4%, …read more »

WAL-MART STORES INC. $57 (New York symbol WMT; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 4.0 billion; Market cap: $228.0 billion; WSSF Rating: Above average) is the world’s largest retailer, with over 7,200 stores. About 55% of its stores are in the United States.

The company has had trouble winning approval to expand in certain urban areas. Consequently, it will probably …read more »

Department stores have fallen out of favor in the past few years, largely due to the growing popularity of smaller specialty stores and online shopping. However, their wider range of merchandise helps shield them from fickle fashion trends and fads. Their larger size also makes it easier for them to negotiate better deals with suppliers.

Discount department stores like Wal-Mart have …read more »