Jefferies Financial Group Trims Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Target Price to $9.00

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) had its target price cut by Jefferies Financial Group from $19.00 to $9.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the pharmacy operator’s stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.50 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.88.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of WBA stock opened at $9.26 on Wednesday. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a 1 year low of $8.22 and a 1 year high of $27.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.68. The business’s fifty day moving average is $9.31 and its 200-day moving average is $12.82. The stock has a market cap of $7.99 billion, a PE ratio of -1.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.70.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.03. 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 $37.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.80%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is presently -14.84%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WBA. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 57.5% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,061,021 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $630,334,000 after acquiring an additional 10,612,373 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC raised its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 98.8% during the 2nd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 6,021,126 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $72,826,000 after purchasing an additional 2,992,648 shares in the last quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,028,000. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $16,365,000. Finally, Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the first quarter worth approximately $13,710,000. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.