5 Stocks to Buy Before the Next Recession

3. Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 63

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) is an American retail operator that runs an extensive network of hypermarkets, discount department stores, and grocery stores across the United States. Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) expects sales to increase approximately 3% in FY23, and plans to authorize share repurchases of at least $10 billion in FY23, which is an ambitious target. 

Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) is a mature stock that can handle recession well, since the company experiences higher sales volume during mass unemployment, when people shift to cheaper alternatives for grocery and necessities. In addition to that, the demand for consumer staples tends to remain strong despite recession, and the current supply chain disruptions owing to the war also induce mass panic buying among customers, benefiting Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) directly. 

On February 22, Morgan Stanley analyst Simeon Gutman lowered the price target on Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) to $165 from $170 and kept an Overweight rating on the shares. The analyst told investors that Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)’s Q1 guidance stated that total EBIT might decline to low teens on a year-over-year basis and the Q1 baseline regarding the divested UK and Japan businesses was also confusing. 

A total of 63 hedge funds were bullish on the stock in the fourth quarter, with GQG Partners as the leading shareholder of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT), owning 10.4 million shares worth $1.50 billion.