Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Sets New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $8.21 and last traded at $8.35, with a volume of 395367 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $8.48.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WBA. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Barclays upped 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 report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.88.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.83. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.03. 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 $37.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.79%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is -9.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 18.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 42,997,580 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $385,258,000 after buying an additional 6,569,223 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 57.5% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,061,021 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $630,334,000 after purchasing an additional 10,612,373 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 worth $98,284,000 after purchasing an additional 3,329,857 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 7,594,475 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $68,046,000 after purchasing an additional 817,762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 6,955,880 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $62,325,000 after purchasing an additional 934,754 shares during the period. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.