Walmart's CEO Of US Division Outlines New Direction For Its Division

Analysts at Citigroup reiterate their "buy" rating on Wal-Mart Stores Inc WMT, while raising their estimates for the company. The target price for WMT is set to $64. Citigroup says, “WMT reported 2Q10 EPS of $0.97, in-line with our estimate of $0.97, above consensus of $0.96, in-line with guidance of $0.93-$0.98, and vs. $0.89 LY…Traffic at Walmart U.S. remained negative, and gross margin declined as a result of WMT's rollback campaign.” “Bill Simon, newly appointed CEO of Walmart's U.S. division, outlined a new direction for Walmart's U.S. division, which includes: (1) broadening the merchandise assortment; (2) ending the aggressive rollbacks and returning to an EDLP pricing strategy; (3) bringing back Action Alley; and (4) engaging with suppliers to drive product innovation. WMT expects this strategy will result in stronger traffic and sales by 4Q10,” the analysts add. Citigroup has raised its EPS estimate for 2010 from $4.03 to $4.06. More Analyst Ratings here