Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Hits New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $17.00 to $12.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Walgreens Boots Alliance traded as low as $11.34 and last traded at $11.38, with a volume of 3330032 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $11.57.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $22.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $30.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $17.00 to $10.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walgreens Boots Alliance currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.71.

Insider Activity at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari acquired 3,000 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $18.05 per share, for a total transaction of $54,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,150. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 17.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Highlander Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,241.8% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Down 4.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.65, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $16.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.89.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 positive return on equity of 12.63% and a negative net margin of 3.99%. The business’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.01%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.