Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $9.22, but opened at $10.60. Walgreens Boots Alliance shares last traded at $11.56, with a volume of 26,878,129 shares traded.

The pharmacy operator reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.13. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 14.23% and a negative net margin of 5.85%. The firm had revenue of $39.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is -9.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WBA. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $19.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.58.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WBA. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 43.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,969,188 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $98,284,000 after acquiring an additional 3,329,857 shares during the last quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 76.6% in the 3rd quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 440,483 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,947,000 after buying an additional 190,996 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 340,431 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,050,000 after buying an additional 64,586 shares during the last quarter. Sasco Capital Inc. CT increased its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 13.6% during the third quarter. Sasco Capital Inc. CT now owns 1,041,440 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $9,331,000 after buying an additional 124,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 82.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 139,377 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,249,000 after acquiring an additional 63,149 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Up 24.3 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.90 billion, a PE ratio of -1.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s fifty day moving average is $9.21 and its 200-day moving average is $9.92.

About Walgreens Boots Alliance

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.