Moody's: Wal-Mart unaffected by repurchase

Moody's Investors Service stated that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.'s new $15 billion share repurchase authorization would have no immediate impact on either the Aa2/Prime-1 ratings or the stable outlook.

"We factor in a certain level of shareholder return activity into our bands of tolerance for Walmart's ratings, and this renewed authorization is within these bands," Moody's senior analyst Charlie O'Shea said in a news release.

"Walmart's operating performance continues to improve sequentially led by its growing food business, continues to generate substantial levels of cash flow even after its healthy capital expenditures and approximately $5.5 billion in dividends," O'Shea continued.

"As a result, while this should be viewed as a negative for debtholders, there remains sufficient cushion in the company's credit metrics and liquidity to execute this level of share repurchase activity provided cadence and volume are prudently managed. Walmart is continuing to extract market share across a broad spectrum of retail categories, and we expect this trend to continue for the foreseeable future."

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