Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know
In the latest trading session, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) closed at $53.83, marking a +1.87% move from the previous day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.15% gain on the day.
Heading into today, shares of the largest U.S. drugstore chain had lost 2.37% over the past month, outpacing the Retail-Wholesale sector's loss of 2.8% and lagging the S&P 500's gain of 0.58% in that time.
WBA will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. On that day, WBA is projected to report earnings of $1.15 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 38.55%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $33.65 billion, down 2.82% from the year-ago period.
WBA's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $4.89 per share and revenue of $133.38 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +3.16% and -4.41%, respectively.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for WBA. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. WBA is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that WBA has a Forward P/E ratio of 10.81 right now. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 11.03.
Meanwhile, WBA's PEG ratio is currently 1.58. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. Retail - Pharmacies and Drug Stores stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.63 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Retail - Pharmacies and Drug Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 90, putting it in the top 36% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks. Com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
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Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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