Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Stock Price Up 0.1%

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)’s share price rose 0.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $9.29 and last traded at $9.07. Approximately 4,496,606 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 16,337,372 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.06.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WBA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $17.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Bank of America dropped their price target 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $17.00 to $10.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.73.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

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 company has a 50 day moving average of $10.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.23. The firm has a market cap of $7.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.35, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.70.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $36.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.94 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 2.86 EPS for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.99%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.84%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 162.5% during the second quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 1,081 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 71.2% during 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 period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 282.1% in the fourth quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,219 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. 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.