Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Issues FY24 Earnings Guidance

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) updated its FY24 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided EPS guidance of $3.20-3.35 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $3.24.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays assumed coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an underweight rating and a $21.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an underperform rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. SVB Leerink decreased their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, HSBC reaffirmed a reduce rating and set a $20.00 price target (down from $27.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $25.00.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WBA opened at $21.02 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.29. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a 1 year low of $19.68 and a 1 year high of $36.58. The company has a market capitalization of $18.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.73.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $37.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.86 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 0.40%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.16 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 151.52%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Timothy C. Wentworth purchased 10,000 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $24.22 per share, for a total transaction of $242,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 585,122 shares in the company, valued at $14,171,654.84. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Director Valerie B. Jarrett acquired 4,456 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $22.44 per share, with a total value of $99,992.64. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 4,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,992.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy C. Wentworth acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $24.22 per share, with a total value of $242,200.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 585,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,171,654.84. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 17.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. lifted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.5% during the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 63,483 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC lifted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1.0% during the first quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 35,461 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,588,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 5.1% during the first quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 10,563 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $473,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1.8% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 28,449 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $811,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Equitable Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 3.5% during the second quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 17,252 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. 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.