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

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) has been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have assigned a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $17.71.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WBA shares. SVB Leerink lowered their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 18th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $35.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $22.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday.

Insider Activity at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari bought 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at $54,150. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 17.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Highlander Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,241.8% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. 58.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Down 4.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ WBA opened at $11.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.65, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $16.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.89. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a 52-week low of $11.10 and a 52-week high of $31.32.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $36.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors 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 payout ratio is -14.84%.

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.