Leerink Partnrs Analysts Cut Earnings Estimates for Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) – Equities researchers at Leerink Partnrs lowered their Q4 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note issued on Tuesday, September 3rd. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Cherny now anticipates that the pharmacy operator will post earnings per share of $0.36 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.37. The consensus estimate for Walgreens Boots Alliance’s current full-year earnings is $2.87 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Walgreens Boots Alliance’s Q1 2025 earnings at $0.37 EPS and Q2 2025 earnings at $0.37 EPS.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on WBA. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $17.00 to $10.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $35.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $22.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.19.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

Shares of WBA stock opened at $8.74 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $10.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.73. The stock has a market cap of $7.55 billion, a PE ratio of -1.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.70. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a 1 year low of $8.46 and a 1 year high of $27.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $36.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.94 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 3.99% and a positive return on equity of 12.63%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the second quarter valued at about $313,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 4.4% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 364,734 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $4,411,000 after purchasing an additional 15,270 shares in the last quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the second quarter worth about $821,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 46.1% during the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 76,228 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $922,000 after purchasing an additional 24,062 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.44%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is currently -14.84%.

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.