Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.38 EPS

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) released its earnings results on Thursday. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.38, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $37.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.86 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a negative net margin of 4.18% and a positive return on equity of 12.11%. The company’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. Walgreens Boots Alliance updated its FY24 guidance to $3.20-3.35 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance to 3.200-3.350 EPS.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

WBA stock traded up $0.67 on Friday, hitting $21.69. 32,886,762 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,444,230. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a 1-year low of $19.68 and a 1-year high of $36.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $21.71 and a 200-day moving average of $22.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.61%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s dividend payout ratio is presently -14.29%.

Insider Activity at Walgreens Boots Alliance

In other news, Director Valerie B. Jarrett purchased 4,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $22.44 per share, for a total transaction of $99,992.64. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,992.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Valerie B. Jarrett purchased 4,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $22.44 per share, for a total transaction of $99,992.64. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,992.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Nancy M. Schlichting sold 15,209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.05, for a total transaction of $350,567.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 17.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WBA shares. SVB Leerink lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. HSBC reaffirmed a “reduce” rating and set a $20.00 price objective (down previously from $27.00) on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Walgreens Boots Alliance currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.00.

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.