Truist Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Stock

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) had its price objective lifted by Truist Financial from $10.00 to $13.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the pharmacy operator’s stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on WBA. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $19.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.27.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

Shares of WBA opened at $12.52 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a twelve month low of $8.08 and a twelve month high of $23.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $9.57 and a 200-day moving average of $9.86.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.13. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 5.85% and a positive return on equity of 14.23%. The business had revenue of $39.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post 1.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is -9.77%.

Institutional Trading of Walgreens Boots Alliance

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 4,757 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 830 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN grew its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 49.2% in the fourth quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 2,685 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 885 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.4% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 25,215 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 1,063 shares during the period. Lincluden Management Ltd. raised its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Lincluden Management Ltd. now owns 264,644 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,371,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 12,893 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084 shares during the period. 58.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.