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

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) has earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $12.88.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WBA shares. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $10.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group raised their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

Shares of WBA opened at $9.23 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $9.18 and a 200 day moving average of $12.30. The company has a market capitalization of $7.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.92, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.69. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a 12 month low of $8.22 and a 12 month high of $27.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.83%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -9.99%.

Institutional Trading of Walgreens Boots Alliance

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WBA. Altrius Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 190,996 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 21.8% in the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 25,343 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 4,534 shares in the last quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora raised its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 35.1% in the third quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 4,562 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 37.6% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,445 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 3,950 shares during the period. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the third quarter worth about $872,000. Institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

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.