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

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $17.71.

Several research firms recently weighed in on WBA. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $22.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 28th. SVB Leerink dropped their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $30.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $17.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.7% in the second quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 28,678 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 1,281 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,210,000. Strategic Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2.8% in the second quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 54,775 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $663,000 after buying an additional 1,475 shares during the last quarter. Clarius Group LLC purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the second quarter valued at about $264,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,079.2% during the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 4,139 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 3,788 shares in the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

WBA stock opened at $11.43 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.72. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a 1 year low of $10.69 and a 1 year high of $31.32. The business’s 50-day moving average is $15.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $36.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.94 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 3.99% and a positive return on equity of 12.63%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.75%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is currently -14.84%.

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.