Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $10.42, but opened at $9.96. Walgreens Boots Alliance shares last traded at $10.15, with a volume of 4,940,020 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WBA shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut 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, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $11.00 to $7.50 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Walgreens Boots Alliance presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.58.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Down 6.6 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.41 billion, a PE ratio of -0.96, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $9.19 and its 200-day moving average is $10.80.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $37.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.67 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.28%. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is -9.99%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 43.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,969,188 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $98,284,000 after buying an additional 3,329,857 shares in the last quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 76.6% during the third quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 440,483 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,947,000 after acquiring an additional 190,996 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 23.4% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 340,431 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,050,000 after purchasing an additional 64,586 shares during the last quarter. Sasco Capital Inc. CT lifted its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sasco Capital Inc. CT now owns 1,041,440 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $9,331,000 after purchasing an additional 124,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 322,984 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,019,000 after purchasing an additional 56,725 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.