The most recent trading session ended with Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) standing at $11.23, reflecting a +0.49% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. The stock trailed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 2.05%. At the same time, the Dow added 1.78%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 2.47%.
The the stock of largest U.S. drugstore chain has risen by 1.87% in the past month, lagging the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 4.47% and the S&P 500's gain of 5.21%.
Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Walgreens Boots Alliance in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $0.34, signifying a 46.03% drop compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $36.66 billion, indicating a 0.85% upward movement from the same quarter last year.
Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $1.66 per share and revenue of $151.49 billion, indicating changes of -42.36% and +2.59%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Walgreens Boots Alliance. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. 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, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.67% higher within the past month. Walgreens Boots Alliance is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Digging into valuation, Walgreens Boots Alliance currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 6.72. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 5.11.
Investors should also note that WBA has a PEG ratio of 1.34 right now. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. The average PEG ratio for the Retail - Pharmacies and Drug Stores industry stood at 0.77 at the close of the market yesterday.
The Retail - Pharmacies and Drug Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 2, this industry ranks in the top 1% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming 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 ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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