Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Trading Down 4.1% Following Analyst Downgrade

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)’s stock price fell 4.1% during trading on Wednesday after Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on the stock from $19.00 to $9.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a hold rating on the stock. Walgreens Boots Alliance traded as low as $9.26 and last traded at $9.33. 10,812,812 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 37% from the average session volume of 17,231,242 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.73.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on WBA. Barclays increased their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $22.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. Bank of America cut their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.50 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walgreens Boots Alliance currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.88.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 162.5% in the 2nd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 87.0% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,324 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,081 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 71.2% in the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 2,453 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Down 0.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $8.08 billion, a PE ratio of -0.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $9.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.91.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $37.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.75 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 14.23% and a negative net margin of 5.85%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.71%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is presently -9.99%.

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.