Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) Updates FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) issued an update on its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 3.200-3.350 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 3.240. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Walgreens Boots Alliance also updated its FY24 guidance to $3.20-3.35 EPS.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Performance

NASDAQ WBA opened at $21.94 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.29. Walgreens Boots Alliance has a 1 year low of $19.68 and a 1 year high of $36.58.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 28th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 0.40% and a return on equity of 10.48%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Walgreens Boots Alliance will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Walgreens Boots Alliance’s payout ratio is currently 151.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. SVB Leerink reduced 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 report on Monday, March 18th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance from a d+ rating to a c- rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Leerink Partnrs reissued a market perform rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, HSBC reissued 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walgreens Boots Alliance has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $25.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Walgreens Boots Alliance

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WBA. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new position in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 1,120.5% during the 2nd quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 1,367 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.