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Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA - Free Report) closed at $52.12, marking a -1.44% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.2% loss on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.17%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.38%.

Heading into today, shares of the largest U.S. drugstore chain had gained 0.57% over the past month, outpacing the Retail-Wholesale sector's loss of 1.15% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.33% in that time.

Wall Street will be looking for positivity from WBA as it approaches its next earnings report date. This is expected to be June 27, 2019. On that day, WBA is projected to report earnings of $1.43 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 6.54%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $34.54 billion, up 0.61% from the year-ago period.

WBA's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $5.99 per share and revenue of $136.77 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -0.5% and +3.98%, respectively.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for WBA. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. 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, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.02% lower within the past month. WBA is currently a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that WBA has a Forward P/E ratio of 8.83 right now. This valuation marks a no noticeable deviation compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 8.83.

We can also see that WBA currently has a PEG ratio of 1.08. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. Retail - Pharmacies and Drug Stores stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.09 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 236, putting it in the bottom 8% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow WBA in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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