Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Wal-Mart Stores (WMT)

from Heartland Adviser Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) has super stores and its spin-off, Sam’s Discount Stores, in almost all countries. New and smaller neighborhood stores have also been very successful. Investors today are now worried that Wal-Mart will be eclipsed by Amazon, which sells many of the same products on its web site. Wal-Mart...

Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) has super stores and its spin-off, Sam’s Discount Stores, in almost all countries. New and smaller neighborhood stores have also been very successful.

Investors today are now worried that Wal-Mart will be eclipsed by Amazon, which sells many of the same products on its web site.

Wal-Mart has responded with its own web site, which I think is every bit as good as Amazon’s. The company also benefits by having so many physical stores for people to shop at along with the grocery store component that are now in most Wal-Mart stores.

Wal-Mart carries Value Line’s highest rating of A++, and it has successfully thrived during the recession, while many retailers failed.

Wal-Mart’s current price is down from a high of $91. A price/earnings ratio of 14 and its nice yield make Wal-Mart a compelling undervalued buy.

The company’s officers and Board of Directors own a very significant 50.6% of the shares in Wal-Mart stock, which shows their commitment to the long-term success of their company; and who can ignore Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, which owns over 60 million shares of Wal-Mart.

Russ Kaplan, Heartland Adviser, www.russkaplaninvestments.com, 402-614-1321, July 24, 2015

Russ Kaplan is an investment adviser representative for Russ Kaplan Investments, Inc. The partnership was started in 1983. Mr. Kaplan received his Bachelor and Masters of Arts Degrees from the University of Iowa and his MBA from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. He also holds a Masters Degree in Sociology from the University of Iowa. As adjunct faculty at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and Metropolitan Community College, Mr. Kaplan has taught students about economics, finance and investments. Mr. Kaplan purchases shares of companies as if he was buying the entire company, and aims to hold a company for a long period of time.