Brokerages Set Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Target Price at $14.73

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $14.73.

Several research analysts have issued reports on WBA shares. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.50 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI lowered their price target 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. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $17.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $22.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ WBA opened at $8.53 on Wednesday. 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 $8.46 and a 1 year high of $27.05. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.50. The firm has a market cap of $7.36 billion, a PE ratio of -1.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.70.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.05). Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 12.63% and a negative net margin of 3.99%. The firm had revenue of $36.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post 2.86 EPS for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is currently -14.84%.

Institutional Trading of Walgreens Boots Alliance

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 162.5% in the 2nd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 87.0% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,324 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,081 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 71.2% in the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 2,453 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

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.