Goldman downgrades Wal-Mart to 'neutral'
Goldman Sachs downgraded Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s stock Tuesday, citing consumers' continued cautious spending and management's eye on growth rather than returns for shareholders. In a research note that also mentioned big-box discount competitors Costco and Target, the investment firm changed its rating for Wal-Mart to "neutral" from "buy."
The investment firm thinks spending by Wal-Mart customers isn't likely to improve in the short-term and points to the company's focus on growth over shareholder returns. Two high-level considerations impact the firm's actions.
"The primary factor driving our decision is that Wal-Mart's current primary strategic imperative, focusing on growth and investment rather than returns, is likely to yield continued erosion in return on capital and unlikely to result in multiple expansion or share price out-performance," a team of analysts wrote in the note.
The firm held to its 12-month price target at $83 per share.
Goldman Sachs upgraded Costco and left Target's rating unchanged.
-- Cyd King
40% of Arkansans in debt collection
Arkansas is one of 13 states and the District of Columbia in which more than 40 percent of its citizens have debts actively in collection, according to a study by the Urban Institute. Eleven of the 13 states are in the South.
Nevada, slammed during the housing crisis, led the pack at 47 percent.
Roughly one in three adult Americans has past-due debt that's been turned over to a collection agency, according to the study.
For the study, researchers accessed a random sample of 7 million out of an estimated 222 million credit files in September 2013. They then built a model to estimate national, regional and state levels of past-due debt and debt in collections.
-- McClatchy Washington Bureau
Arkansas Index adds 0.51; Car-Mart gains
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, gained 0.51 to 353.07 Monday.
"The major averages finished lower as geopolitical concerns continue to overshadow generally positive earnings releases," said Bob Williams, senior vice president of Delta Trust Investments Inc. in Little Rock.
Windstream shares closed at $11.83 for a gain of 12 percent on extremely heavy volume after trading as high as $13.30 following the announcement of plans by Windstream to create a real estate investment trust, Williams said. Tyson Food Inc. shares dropped almost 3.5 percent in very active trading.
America's Car-Mart Inc. gained nearly 2.4 percent.
Acxiom Corp. shares matched their 52-week low in intraday trading and fell 1.69 percent for the day.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 07/30/2014