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

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) have been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $12.88.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $19.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America dropped their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.50 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 54.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 321,425 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,893,000 after purchasing an additional 113,242 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 3rd quarter worth $92,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 79.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 46,333 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 20,450 shares during the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 3rd quarter worth $130,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 14.3% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,587 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 1,454 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Down 0.4 %

WBA stock opened at $9.02 on Monday. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a twelve month low of $8.08 and a twelve month high of $27.05. The company has a market cap of $7.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.69. 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $9.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.20.

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

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is currently -9.99%.

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.