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

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) have been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the fifteen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $13.27.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WBA shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target 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. UBS Group increased their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Down 3.2 %

Walgreens Boots Alliance stock opened at $12.52 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.22, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.37. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a fifty-two week low of $8.08 and a fifty-two week high of $23.76.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.13. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 5.85% and a positive return on equity of 14.23%. The company had revenue of $39.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post 1.52 EPS for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.99%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is -9.77%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 4,757 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN boosted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 2,685 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 885 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 25,215 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 1,063 shares in the last quarter. Lincluden Management Ltd. increased its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Lincluden Management Ltd. now owns 264,644 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,371,000 after buying an additional 1,074 shares during the period. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 12,893 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $120,000 after buying an additional 1,084 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

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.