Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) has received an average rating of “Reduce” from the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $12.88.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on WBA shares. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.50 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. 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. UBS Group lifted their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. 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 note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $19.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 43.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,969,188 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $98,284,000 after purchasing an additional 3,329,857 shares in the last quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 190,996 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 23.4% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 340,431 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,050,000 after buying an additional 64,586 shares in the last quarter. Sasco Capital Inc. CT raised its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sasco Capital Inc. CT now owns 1,041,440 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $9,331,000 after buying an additional 124,950 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 21.3% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 322,984 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,019,000 after acquiring an additional 56,725 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ WBA opened at $9.02 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $7.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.69. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a twelve month low of $8.08 and a twelve month high of $27.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The business’s fifty day moving average is $9.14 and its 200 day moving average is $11.20.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post 1.53 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.09%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -9.99%.

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.