Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Analysts

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) have earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $15.85.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WBA. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $11.00 price objective (down previously from $22.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Friday, June 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $30.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 1st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $17.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $35.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of 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.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WBA opened at $9.38 on Friday. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a 12-month low of $9.14 and a 12-month 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 firm has a market capitalization of $8.10 billion, a PE ratio of -1.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $11.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.28.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.05). Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 12.63% and a negative net margin of 3.99%. The business had revenue of $36.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.94 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.66%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is presently -14.84%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.4% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 364,734 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $4,411,000 after acquiring an additional 15,270 shares during the last quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the second quarter valued at approximately $821,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 46.1% during the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 76,228 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $922,000 after purchasing an additional 24,062 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 31.6% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 132,456 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,602,000 after purchasing an additional 31,772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 37.6% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 381,301 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $4,612,000 after purchasing an additional 104,235 shares in the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.