If You Invested $1,000 In Walmart Stock One Year Ago, Here's How Much You'd Have Now

Investors who have owned stocks in the last year have generally experienced some big gains. In fact, the SPDR S&P 500 SPY total return over the last 12 months is 34%. But there is no question some big-name stocks performed better than others along the way.

Walmart’s Bumpy Road: One company that has been a lackluster investment in the last year has been retailer Walmart Inc WMT.

Fortunately for Walmart investors, the company’s grocery and online shopping businesses were relatively insulated from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In fact, Walmart’s fiscal 2021 revenue was up 6.7% to $559 billion, while rising costs drove net income down 9.2% to $13.5 billion. In the most recent quarter, Walmart reported 37% online sales growth.

At the beginning of 2020, Walmart shares were trading at $118.86. By the beginning of March, the stock was down to $107.60 as news of the coronavirus spreading in China prompted concerns about a U.S. pandemic.

Walmart ultimately bottomed at $102 during the pandemic-driven March sell-off. Fortunately for Walmart investors, the dip didn't last long.

By mid-April, Walmart shares were back at new all-time highs above $130 and got as high as $151.33 in early September.

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Walmart In 2021, Beyond: Walmart ultimately peaked at $153.66 in early December 2020. Unfortunately, while the rest of the market was making new highs in the first half of 2021, Walmart was trading mostly sideways in a wide range of between around $125 and around $145.

Walmart is dealing with several headwinds in the market in 2021. Investors are concerned Walmart will be losing its pandemic online sales growth tailwinds in coming quarters. Meanwhile, Amazon.com, Inc AMZN is always the 800-pound gorilla in the room for all brick-and-mortar retailers. Walmart is also increasing its capital spending by 40% to $14 billion this year, which will certainly eat into margins. Finally, Walmart’s price-to-earnings ratio of around 33 is on the high end of its historical range and is somewhat pricey for a stock generating only single-digit annual revenue growth.

Still, Walmart investors who bought one year ago and held on have generated a positive return on their investment. In fact, $1,000 in Walmart stock bought on July 20, 2020, would be worth about $1,089 today.

Looking ahead, analysts are expecting Walmart to be back at new all-time highs once again in the next 12 months. The average price target among the 32 analysts covering the stock is $164.50, suggesting a 16% upside from current levels.

Photo: Walmart via Flickr