Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Short Interest Update

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 59,050,000 shares, an increase of 34.2% from the June 15th total of 44,006,100 shares. Currently, 8.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 15,500,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WBA opened at $11.50 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.71, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.72. 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 has a 1-year low of $10.69 and a 1-year high of $31.32. The business has a 50-day moving average of $15.19 and a 200-day moving average of $19.17.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.70%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is presently -14.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $11.00 price objective (down previously from $22.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.71.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WBA. Highlander Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 981 shares during the last quarter. Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.