Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) Stock Drops Despite Market Gains: Important Facts to Note
The latest trading session saw Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) ending at $21.28, denoting a -1.21% adjustment from its last day's close. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.12%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.61%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 1.54%.
The largest U.S. drugstore chain's stock has dropped by 4.82% in the past month, falling short of the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 1.42% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.06%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Walgreens Boots Alliance in its upcoming release. The company plans to announce its earnings on March 28, 2024. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $0.84, showcasing a 27.59% downward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $36.48 billion, showing a 4.65% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $3.24 per share and a revenue of $144.72 billion, representing changes of -18.59% and +4.05%, respectively, from the prior year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Walgreens Boots Alliance should also be noted by investors. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the company's business performance and profit potential.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
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 has moved 0.27% lower. Walgreens Boots Alliance is holding a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell) right now.
Investors should also note Walgreens Boots Alliance's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 6.64. This indicates no noticeable deviation in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 6.64.
We can additionally observe that WBA currently boasts a PEG ratio of 1.33. 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. As the market closed yesterday, the Retail - Pharmacies and Drug Stores industry was having an average PEG ratio of 1.17.
The Retail - Pharmacies and Drug Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 249, finds itself in the bottom 2% echelons of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
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Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
