Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Shares Down 3.9% – What’s Next?

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)’s share price was down 3.9% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $9.91 and last traded at $9.98. Approximately 2,760,651 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 18,026,910 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.39.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on WBA. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target 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. Bank of America decreased 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 research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.58.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.69. The company has a market cap of $8.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.04, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.66. 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 (NASDAQ:WBA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.99%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is currently -9.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WBA. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 43.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,969,188 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $98,284,000 after purchasing an additional 3,329,857 shares in the last quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 76.6% during the third quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 440,483 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,947,000 after acquiring an additional 190,996 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 23.4% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 340,431 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,050,000 after purchasing an additional 64,586 shares during the last quarter. Sasco Capital Inc. CT grew its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 13.6% in the third quarter. Sasco Capital Inc. CT now owns 1,041,440 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $9,331,000 after purchasing an additional 124,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 82.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 139,377 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 63,149 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

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.