StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA)

Equities researchers at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) in a note issued to investors on Wednesday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the pharmacy operator’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Wolfe Research upgraded Walgreens Boots Alliance to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Walgreens Boots Alliance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $9.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.59.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

Shares of WBA opened at $11.16 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $10.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.88. The stock has a market cap of $9.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.62. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a 52 week low of $8.08 and a 52 week high of $22.05.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.13. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 5.87% and a positive return on equity of 17.61%. The company had revenue of $39.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Financial Corp IN lifted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 49.2% during the 4th quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 2,685 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 885 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Riverview Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 123.8% in the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 2,874 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 79.5% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 2,928 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. 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.