Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Trading Up 1.2% – What’s Next?

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) shares were up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $9.67 and last traded at $9.55. Approximately 5,234,216 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 17,257,922 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.44.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WBA shares. Bank of America decreased their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on 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. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial cut their target price 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.88.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Trading Up 2.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $8.18 billion, a PE ratio of -0.92, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $9.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.59.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.03. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 14.23% and a negative net margin of 5.85%. The company had revenue of $37.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.67 EPS. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.54 EPS for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is currently -9.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 111,706 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,423,000 after purchasing an additional 2,974 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 1st quarter valued at $1,515,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 32,085 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $696,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. Insight Folios Inc raised its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 10,840 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 20.7% during the 1st quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 65,051 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,411,000 after purchasing an additional 11,148 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.