Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) have been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $14.73.

WBA has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $22.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $17.00 to $10.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.50 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 282.1% in the fourth quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,219 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, First Personal Financial Services boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 260.0% in the first quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 1,800 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

WBA opened at $8.71 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $10.29 and a 200 day moving average of $14.68. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a 52-week low of $8.46 and a 52-week high of $27.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market cap of $7.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.29, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.70.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 27th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.05). Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 3.99% and a positive return on equity of 12.63%. The business had revenue of $36.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post 2.86 EPS for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.48%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is presently -14.84%.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Company Profile

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc operates as a healthcare, pharmacy, and retail company in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and internationally. It operates through three segments: U.S. Retail Pharmacy, International, and U.S. Healthcare. The U.S. Retail Pharmacy segment engages in operation of the retail drugstores, health and wellness services, specialty, and home delivery pharmacy services, which offers health and wellness, beauty, personal care and consumables, and general merchandise.