Goldman Reiterates Bull Case for Wal-Mart (WMT)

Goldman Sachs is out with an analyst note this morning that is reiterating their Buy rating on shares of Wal-Mart WMT. They said that they see favorable risk/reward into the company’s shareholder meeting. Goldman analysts said that “Wal-Mart will host its annual shareholders’ meeting on Friday, June 4. We like the risk/reward into the event as we see optionality on any positive commentary from management on sales trends. In the absence of a sales catalyst, we believe continued focus on expense discipline and sourcing opportunities will be enough to support the stock, given its historically low 12.3x multiple on 2010 EPS.” They also said “Wal-Mart same store sales have materially lagged competitors across discretionary retail and off-mall, discount competitors. While 2Q is likely to see this trend continue, we expect a sequential improvement from 1Q’s 1.1% comp decline against easing comparisons. If management’s tone supports this view, shares could get a lift.”