Leerink Partnrs Has Pessimistic Outlook of WBA Q1 Earnings

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) – Research analysts at Leerink Partnrs decreased their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report issued on Tuesday, December 17th. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Cherny now forecasts that the pharmacy operator will post earnings of $0.34 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.40. The consensus estimate for Walgreens Boots Alliance’s current full-year earnings is $1.53 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Walgreens Boots Alliance’s Q3 2025 earnings at $0.35 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.35 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $1.52 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $1.49 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $1.63 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $1.73 EPS.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $19.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America lowered their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.50 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $10.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.58.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

NASDAQ WBA opened at $9.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.37. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a 1-year low of $8.08 and a 1-year high of $27.05. The company has a market cap of $8.25 billion, a PE ratio of -0.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.66. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.51.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $37.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.75 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 5.85% and a positive return on equity of 14.23%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.67 EPS.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -9.99%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WBA. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 886,144 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $7,940,000 after acquiring an additional 24,974 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 145.0% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 51,832 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 30,675 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 54.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 321,425 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,893,000 after purchasing an additional 113,242 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 79.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 46,333 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 20,450 shares during the period. 58.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.