Walmart (WMT) will hire 20,000 new associates to boost its supply chain in response to robust demand growth amid a strained global supply chain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shares of the multinational retailer have gained around 13% over the past six months. (See Walmart stock charts on TipRanks)
New associates will fill positions across 250 Walmart and Sam’s Club distribution centers, fulfillment centers, and transportation offices.
Notably, Walmart will hold special hiring events on September 8 and 9 to offer permanent full-time and part-time jobs. The positions will range from order fillers, freight handlers, lift drivers, and technicians to management positions. The average wage offered for supply chain associates will be $20.37 per hour.
To attract high-quality associates, Walmart continues to offer several incremental perks and benefits like a COVID-19 vaccination bonus, health and medical benefits, maternity and paternity benefits, emotional well-being benefits, to name a few.
Earlier this year, Walmart committed to paying 100% towards the cost of tuition and books, allowing supply chain associates to achieve bachelor’s degrees without incurring any debt.
Concurrent with its upbeat Q2 results, the company said that it continues to introduce high-tech automation systems at its outlets on top of the high-tech grocery distribution centers.
Furthermore, Walmart has opened six new Walmart Academies to support its supply chain by training its associates with specialized supply chain and soft skills like leadership, communications, and change management.
In FY21, Walmart trained approximately 5,900 associates through in-person and virtual training.
Angie Baecke, GM at Walmart’s FC 7520 in Plainfield, Indiana, commented, “It means the world when you have a caring group of people to work with, who truly care. Your job becomes more than just getting a paycheck – it becomes a career. And, there’s opportunity here to learn from the ground up and add to the culture by putting your own special twist on being a part of a team.”
Morgan Stanley analyst Simeon Gutman reiterated a Buy rating on Walmart with a price target of $170 (14.8% upside potential).
Gutman is bullish on the company’s GoLocal service, another addition to the list of alternative revenue streams, which already includes Walmart Connect (advertising), fintech, healthcare, Walmart+, and Walmart Fulfillment Services/Marketplace buildout.
Consensus among analysts is a Strong Buy based on 18 Buys and 4 Holds. The average Walmart price target of $172.48 implies 16.5% upside potential to current levels.
Additionally, WMT scores a 9 out of 10 on TipRanks’ Smart Score rating system, indicating that the stock has strong potential to outperform market expectations.
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