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

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) has received a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $14.73.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $17.00 to $10.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $22.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.50 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WBA opened at $8.71 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.29, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a 1-year low of $8.46 and a 1-year high of $27.05.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 27th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 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 the consensus estimate of $35.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.48%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is currently -14.84%.

Institutional Trading of Walgreens Boots Alliance

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 282.1% during the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,219 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, First Personal Financial Services increased its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 260.0% during the 1st quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 1,800 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during 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.