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Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) closed at $49.94 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.36% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500’s 0.16% loss on the day.

Coming into today, shares of the largest U.S. drugstore chain had gained 2.24% in the past month. In that same time, the Retail-Wholesale sector lost 0.05%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.46%.

Investors will be hoping for strength from WBA as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.01, down 0.98% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $33.18 billion, down 4.49% from the prior-year quarter.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for WBA. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company’s business and profitability.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. 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 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 0.71% lower. WBA is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Digging into valuation, WBA currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 9.81. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 9.81, so we one might conclude that WBA is trading at a no noticeable deviation comparatively.

Investors should also note that WBA has a PEG ratio of 1.43 right now. 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. Retail – Pharmacies and Drug Stores stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.57 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 121, putting it in the top 48% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual 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.

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
 
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