Walmart’s ready to move even higher

Article Excerpt

Walmart’s shares have jumped 27% since the start of 2020. That’s thanks to strong consumer demand for food and household items during the COVID-19 pandemic. The stock is now poised to move even higher. Governments continue to designate Walmart’s stores as “essential,” so they remain open despite a new round of lockdowns to slow the spread of COVID-19. The company is also improving its e-commerce channels as more people shop online. Those upgrades will help it compete with Amazon.com. WALMART INC. $152 is a buy. The stock (New York symbol WMT; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 2.85 billion; Market cap: $433.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; Dividend yield: 1.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.walmart.com) lets you tap the retailer’s 11,484 outlets in 27 countries. Those stores serve a total of 265 million customers each week. Walmart’s 4,753 locations in the U.S. supply 66% of its total sales. The company offered investors global exposure in 1998 when it opened its first store outside the U.S. and…