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

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) has been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $12.88.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WBA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of 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. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $10.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WBA opened at $9.23 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.68. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a 52 week low of $8.22 and a 52 week high of $27.05. The firm has a market cap of $7.98 billion, a PE ratio of -0.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $9.18 and its 200-day moving average is $12.30.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $37.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.75 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 14.23% and a negative net margin of 5.85%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.67 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.83%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -9.99%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WBA. Altrius Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 76.6% in the third quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 440,483 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,947,000 after purchasing an additional 190,996 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 21.8% during the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 25,343 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 4,534 shares in the last quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora raised its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 35.1% in the 3rd quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 4,562 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 37.6% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,445 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $129,000 after acquiring an additional 3,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 3rd quarter worth $872,000. 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.