Walmart’s stock stock rises toward its 4th record close this month, a week ahead of earnings

Shares of Walmart Inc.
WMT,
+0.59%
rose 0.7% in afternoon trading Friday, to put them on track for a record close. The discount retail giant’s stock was headed for the fourth record close in the nine trading sessions so far in August. The stock’s rally comes ahead of Walmart’s fiscal second-quarter report, which is scheduled for release on Aug. 17, before the opening bell. Since the end of July, the FactSet consensus for second-quarter adjusted earnings per share has ticked up to $1.69 from $1.68, for revenue to $159.90 billion from $159.39 billion and for same-store sales has increased to 4.1% from 3.7%. The stock has gained 5.4% over the past three months, while the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF
XLP,
+0.16%
has slipped 2.6% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
+0.30%
has tacked on 6.0%.