Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Sets New 1-Year Low on Analyst Downgrade

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $17.00 to $12.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Walgreens Boots Alliance traded as low as $11.34 and last traded at $11.38, with a volume of 3330032 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $11.57.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on WBA. SVB Leerink decreased their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $35.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $30.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Inderpal S. Bhandari acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $18.05 per share, with a total value of $54,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,150. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 17.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

A number of large 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 $26,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,241.8% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 58.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $16.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market cap of $9.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.69, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.72.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its 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 negative net margin of 3.99% and a positive return on equity of 12.63%. The company had revenue of $36.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 2.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.79%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is currently -14.84%.

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.