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

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBA has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America decreased their target price 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. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.88.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.70. The company has a market capitalization of $7.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

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, 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.06%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is currently -9.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WBA. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 143.0% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 182,983 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,969,000 after acquiring an additional 107,677 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 1,318,849 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $28,612,000 after acquiring an additional 113,933 shares in the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. raised its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 11,011 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 1,735 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,796.0% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 5,176 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 4,903 shares in the last quarter. 58.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.