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Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) Outperforms Broader Market: What You Need to Know

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In the latest market close, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA - Free Report) reached $8.56, with a +1.06% movement compared to the previous day. The stock's change was more than the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.25%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a downswing of 0.28%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 0.81%.

Shares of the largest U.S. drugstore chain have depreciated by 8.63% over the course of the past month, underperforming the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 6.92% and the S&P 500's gain of 5.22%.

Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Walgreens Boots Alliance in its upcoming release. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $0.38, reflecting a 42.42% decrease from the same quarter last year. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $37.2 billion, up 1.35% from the year-ago period.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $1.53 per share and revenue of $149.06 billion, which would represent changes of -46.88% and +2.43%, respectively, from the prior year.

Furthermore, it would be beneficial for investors to monitor any recent shifts in analyst projections for Walgreens Boots Alliance. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. 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 varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. Currently, Walgreens Boots Alliance is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Walgreens Boots Alliance has a Forward P/E ratio of 5.55 right now. This expresses no noticeable deviation compared to the average Forward P/E of 5.55 of its industry.

Meanwhile, WBA's PEG ratio is currently 1.11. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. The Retail - Pharmacies and Drug Stores industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 0.98 as of yesterday's close.

The Retail - Pharmacies and Drug Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 224, finds itself in the bottom 11% echelons of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our 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.

Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.


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