Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Shares Up 1.3% - Still a Buy?

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) were up 1.3% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $9.54 and last traded at $9.47. Approximately 4,359,324 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 17,247,457 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.35.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WBA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $20.00 to $15.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Barclays raised their price objective on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $19.00 to $9.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group raised their price target on Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $12.88.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $8.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.68.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $37.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.75 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 5.85% and a positive return on equity of 14.23%. Walgreens Boots Alliance's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.57 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.71%. Walgreens Boots Alliance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -9.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Walgreens Boots Alliance

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1.9% in the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 32,085 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $696,000 after buying an additional 597 shares during the period. Buckley Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 37,335 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $810,000 after acquiring an additional 785 shares during the period. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 60.4% during the 1st quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,130 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. True Vision MN LLC boosted its position in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. True Vision MN LLC now owns 26,137 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the period. Finally, Redwood Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 99,661 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $2,162,000 after purchasing an additional 850 shares in the last quarter. 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.