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

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) has received an average rating of “Reduce” from the fourteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $12.63.

A number of brokerages have commented on WBA. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

Shares of WBA stock opened at $10.16 on Friday. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a 12 month low of $8.08 and a 12 month high of $22.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -0.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $10.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.71.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.13. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 5.87% and a positive return on equity of 17.61%. The firm had revenue of $39.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Financial Corp IN grew its position 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 worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 885 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Riverview Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 123.8% in the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 2,874 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,590 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 79.5% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 2,928 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,297 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors 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.