Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) closed at $11.22 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.13% move from the prior day. The stock's change was more than the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.61%. At the same time, the Dow lost 1.91%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1.41%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the largest U.S. drugstore chain had gained 2.18% over the past month. This has lagged the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 11.89% and the S&P 500's gain of 12.65% in that time.
The upcoming earnings release of Walgreens Boots Alliance will be of great interest to investors. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $0.34, signifying a 46.03% drop compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $36.66 billion, up 0.85% from the prior-year quarter.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $1.66 per share and a revenue of $151.49 billion, representing changes of -42.36% and +2.59%, respectively, from the prior year.
Furthermore, it would be beneficial for investors to monitor any recent shifts in analyst projections for Walgreens Boots Alliance. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.88% higher. Right now, Walgreens Boots Alliance possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In the context of valuation, Walgreens Boots Alliance is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 6.76. This indicates a premium in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 5.19.
It is also worth noting that WBA currently has a PEG ratio of 1.35. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. As the market closed yesterday, the Retail - Pharmacies and Drug Stores industry was having an average PEG ratio of 0.78.
The Retail - Pharmacies and Drug Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 2, which puts it in the top 1% of all 250+ industries.
The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.
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Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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