Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (WBA)

[bar1080]

I'm following events there closely and thinking of you two.

Great to see WBA clawing northward. No trades for me recently. Just holding the same blue chips.

[leftovers]

yes and yes ! Sold the 42 calls for this Friday since today the dividend is deducted I figured it a safe bet. So get the dividend plus a .20 cent bonus for the premium I received.

We are doing OK but the war is very hot on the front nothing good about it including the threat to the NUKE Plant very ugly ....

[bar1080]

Still selling WBA options? You and your daughter doing OK?

[bar1080]

"appears to have been to maintain WBA's status as a "Dividend Aristocrat." That's probably right. My son owns the NOBL index fund of dividend aristocrats which has performed brilliantly during the 2022 drawdown. Off 13.8% vs 20.5% for the S&P. This market adores div payers and penalizes non-yielders, like many tech stocks. .

BTW, I wouldn't recommend NOBL for long term performance but it's done great in these troubled times.

[Stock_Barber]

Yes, hard to pass on over a 5% secure dividend!


.

[Prudent Capitalist]

The increase was only .0025 or a penny annually and appears to have been to maintain WBA's status as a "Dividend Aristocrat". But the yield is great and I will take it. the share price i9s suffering right now due to retail being down across the board, and primarily due to the sale of the Boots arm in Europe falling apart due to lack of sufficient bids.

[leftovers]

Walgreens Boots (NASDAQ:WBA) declares $0.48/share quarterly dividend, 0.5% increase from prior dividend of $0.48.

Forward yield 5.16%

Payable Sept. 9; for shareholders of record Aug. 19; ex-div Aug. 18.

[biotech_researcher]

CVS and Walmart rule this space..

[Prudent Capitalist]

Walgreens Abandons Boots Sale as Debt-Market Chaos Spooks Buyers

(Bloomberg) -- Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. abandoned the sale of its Boots drugstore chain that was expected to bring more than $6 billion after failing to secure the desired valuation for the UK business amid a turbulent credit market.
...
As a result of “market instability severely impacting financing availability, no third party has been able to make an offer that adequately reflects the high potential value of Boots,” Walgreens said Tuesday in a statement.

Walgreens had been exploring the Boots sale amid increased focus on its North American business, where it had begun adding primary-care centers to its US locations and launched an initiative to enroll patients in clinical trials. Walgreens Chief Executive Officer Rosalind Brewer left open the possibility of other moves for the UK pharmacy chain in Tuesday’s statement.

“The board and I remain confident that Boots and No7 Beauty Company hold strong fundamental value,” she said. “Longer term, we will stay open to all opportunities to maximize shareholder value for these businesses and across our company.”

[Prudent Capitalist]

The entire European Boots operation based in the UK has been a huge negative drag on everything and BREXIT exacerbated the negative impact to WBA, so it has been put up for sale at auction. WAG was a much stronger company and much better investment before the US executive leadership allowed the merger and let Stephano Pessina take everything over and run the new WBA from Italy. Getting rid of him was a huge positive, and the jettisoning and sale of Boots cannot come soon enough, IMO.

[Afterhoursearnings3]

I kind of like the exposure to the UK, but I agree the dividend is strong. Looking to buy soon for a long long hold.

[Prudent Capitalist]

Stock price performance has been disappointing over the past 5 years or so, but the dividend yield is very strong and thing should look up when they sell off the Boots business in UK, etc.

[Afterhoursearnings3]

Looks enticing for a long term hold here

[Stock_Barber]

Absolutely agree on both points!

[Prudent Capitalist]

WBA has held up fairly well, but they need to get the auction of the Boots business in the UK completed. That has dragged on far too long.

[Porterhouse10]

Gotcha thx

[leftovers]

Walgreens Boots (NASDAQ:WBA) declares $0.4775/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous.

Forward yield 4.3%

Payable June 10; for shareholders of record May 20; ex-div May 19.

[Porterhouse10]

Workout ok, Patience, right!

[bar1080]

When the invasion began around Feb 19, I created a diversified paper portfolio of America's highest credit rated companies. 20 stocks in all, starting with the only AAA-rated stocks, JNJ and Microsoft. The Bluest of the Blue!

As of right now, that group is up 3.7%, led by Chevron (up 24%). BRK comes in third, up 11.6%. Only substantial losers have been HD and BAC.

My only selection criterion was credit worthiness. WBA is about unchanged since Feb 19. Although megacap blue chips have been a great place to be lately, other stocks haven't done too poorly with the exception of tech and microcaps (of course). This market hates tech. Mid cap stocks have held up fairly well.

[bar1080]

YTD my individual stocks are off about 3.6% according to Finviz. Worst three are WBA, Skyworks (a small holding) and 3M. ROK's had a stinkin' few months too.

My kids hold tons of QQQ which is off 9.1% YTD, but they have a >ten bagger in it, even now. I tried to get them to lighten up on the QQQ a few months ago but both kids wanted to continue holding. They've had QQQ since about 2010.

I've had some div increases in 2022, no reductions.

[leftovers]

I think I'll call it the dogs of the bar1080 ! Looks like I will be assigned 500 WBA shares at end of trading today? Unless it closes above 46.

I received 1.12 credit last week so I'll end up with 44.90 shares. I thought with with strong earnings it would be a slam dunk it will be my first assignment of 2022. So far all the put premium I sold stayed in my account.

BTW what are the other 2 dogs of the Bar ?

[bar1080]

Guidance isn't great. Of my 18 individual stocks WBA is third worst YTD. BRK is currently the best in 2022.

[Prudent Capitalist]

Great Q: Strong beats on both top and bottom line ($1.59 vs. consensus est. of $1.38), yet the stock goes down hard. Go figure.

[Prudent Capitalist]

The deadline for the Bids was February 24, and there were apparently several teams bidding for the Boots chain in UK, etc., including the CVC/Bain Capital joint venture. Reuters reported on 2/23 that informed sources had projected that a sale of Boots by WBA could bring up to 8 Billion Pounds or $10.88 Billion. But there has been nothing but dead silence since the closing of the Bid deadline. Time will tell, but one would have to assume we would hear something fairly soon.

[Prudent Capitalist]

Bloomberg Reported Walgreens Said to Kick Off Boots Sale as Sycamore Joins Fray

12:15 pm ET January 29, 2022 (Benzinga)

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-29/walgreens-is-said-to-kick-off-boots-sale-as-sycamore-joins-fray?utm_source=google&utm_medium=bd&cmpId=google&sref=2h1zKciy

[leftovers]

Walgreens Boots (NASDAQ:WBA) declares $0.4775/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous.

Forward yield 3.82%

Payable March 11; for shareholders of record Feb. 18; ex-div Feb. 17.

[Stock_Barber]

Well put, and spot on!

[Prudent Capitalist]

The Boots UK business has been the drag on WBA for some time now, and I view this as a positive move. Brexit also complicated things and negatively impacted WBA due to its exposure there. Hindsight is 20x20 but WAG would have been a lot better off if it had not thrown in with Stephano Pessina on the Boots/Alliance merger to form WBA and had just stayed here in the US.

[bar1080]

"Bain Capital and CVC team up in Boots bid"

"Two buyout giants, Bain Capital and CVC, have reportedly joined forces to launch a multi-billion pound bid for British health and beauty retailer Boots."

"According to Sky News which reported it first, the takeover is based on substantial investment in the chemist's digital, beauty and healthcare services offerings.

Other private equity firms are also expected to table offers in the near future, as part of a process to be run by Goldman Sachs (GS).

But the joint bid has turned heads due to the role of Dominic Murphy, a senior partner at CVC, who is also a director of Boots' US parent company Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA)."

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/buyout-firms-bain-capital-and-cvc-team-up-in-uk-boots-bid-161629644.html

[Stock_Barber]

Yes it did! Nice!

[Prudent Capitalist]

Popped back nicely. the quarter was a stellar one.

[Stock_Barber]

And then did a bellyflop...

[bar1080]

"Walgreens Stock Rises on Profit Beat and Guidance Raise

Updated Jan. 6, 2022 7:17 am ET / Original Jan. 6, 2022 7:08 am ET


"Walgreens Boots Alliance reported fiscal first-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.68 a share, topping analysts’ expectations, and raised fiscal-year guidance.

The stock was rising 2% in premarket trading Thursday to $55.08."

https://www.barrons.com/articles/walgreens-wba-stock-earnings-sales-51641464776?siteid=yhoof2

[bar1080]

Just checked. Walgreen's peaked around $96 in mid 2015. Only good news is Q. div rose from 0.338 to 0.478 since then.

CVS stock doing much better than WBA for the last year or so. Also BRK at record high ($300.80/$454,000).

[Prudent Capitalist]

The Boots merger was an overall negative and it would be a huge positive to sell it off right now and concentrate on WBA's roots and core business that was WAG.

[Stock_Barber]

Very interesting...

[bar1080]

"Walgreens said to have received offer from Bain for its Boots U.K. chain"

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3784443-walgreens-boots-is-said-to-have-received-offer-from-bain-for-its-boots-uk-chain

[bar1080]

WBA is up 27.3% YTD as of this moment, slightly topping the S&P 500 which is having another fabulous year.

BTW, BRK roughly equaled the S&P.

[Stock_Barber]

The last I looked they were sold out?

At least of the BinaxNOW.

[Prudent Capitalist]

Sales of the home Covid test kits are becoming very profitable for Walgreens in the US, but I see that Walgreens is now limiting purchases to 4 at a time.

[Prudent Capitalist]

Walgreens, then WAG, was a much stronger and successful company for investors before Stefano Pessina talked WAG into merging with the European Boots operation to form WBA. this would be a positive for WBA shares IMO.

[bar1080]

SA: "Walgreens jumps on report of potential Boots sale"

"Walgreens (WBA) has been under pressure from investors after underperforming peer CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) and the company tapped former Starbucks executive Roz Brewer to take over for Stefano Pessina in January."

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3777026-walgreens-jumps-on-report-of-potential-sale-of-boots-chain

[bar1080]

"Walgreens Explores Option to Sell Boots Pharmacies in U.K., According to Reports. The Stock Rose."

"Walgreens Boots Alliance rose 4.3% on Friday after reports that the company is reviewing options to sell or spin off assets including its Boots drugstore chain in the United Kingdom.

The parent of more than 2,000 Boots pharmacies, Walgreens Boots Alliance is “lining up Goldman Sachs to work on a potential disposal of the U.K.’s biggest and best-known chain of high street chemists,” according a Sky News report. Bloomberg, citing a person familiar with the matter, also reported that the company is exploring a sale of Boots so it can focus on its North American business.

“Walgreens Boots Alliance does not comment on market speculation,” Morry Smulevitz, vice president, corporate communications, said in an email to Barron’s.

The report on the U.K. business comes as Walgreens is spending billions of dollars on its U.S. drugstore operations at the direction of new Chief Executive Officer Roz Brewer. That includes paying $5.2 billion to acquire a controlling stake in Chicago-based VillageMD, a primary-care network, as the pharmacy chain seeks to remodel itself as a healthcare provider post Covid-19."

https://www.barrons.com/articles/walgreens-explores-option-to-sell-boots-pharmacies-in-u-k-according-to-reports-the-stock-rose-51638566875

[bar1080]

One problem is the unfolding Theranos news makes Walgreens management look like idiots.

[leftovers]

Walgreens Boots (NASDAQ:WBA) declares $0.4775/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous.

Forward yield 3.95%

Payable Dec. 10; for shareholders of record Nov. 15; ex-div Nov. 12.

[leftovers]

Jeesh that good earnings report sure faded fast!

CVS is running circles around WBA......

[Prudent Capitalist]

Bingo! Great post. And, what is not to like about Walgreens having in-house health care providers writing more prescriptions for the Walgreens pharmacy right there on site.

[bar1080]

PC, I'm no expert on the innards of Walgreens. It's just one of about 18 individual stocks I own. One of my sons worked as a pharmacy tech at CVS and later at Walgreens when he was in college. For awhile he had thought of becoming a pharmacist.

Index funds comprise the core of my stock portfolio; I was a very early investor in the Vanguard Total Stock Market Fund, and an early disciple of Vanguard's John Bogle and indexing. About 12 years ago I bought my kids QQQ, another index fund. QQQ turned out spectacularly.

I virtually never trade my stocks, but just added some IJR, a mid-cap index fund because I worry about declining diversification. Investors simply have too much money in mega-caps like Apple, MSFT and Amazon. Heck, even Buffett has loaded up on Apple via BRK, and lately he's added two S&P 500 index funds, so more Apple!

[Stock_Barber]

Walgreens Wants More

Of the many companies that reported today, Walgreens had a shine unlike any other. The drugstore company bested analyst estimates.

Walgreens reported EPS of $1.17 adjusted (vs. $1.02 expected) and revenue of $34.26 billion (vs. $33.3 billion.) Revenue in Q3 2020 was $30.37 billion, showing just how beefy the company’s revenue growth has been.

Walgreens’ net income rose over $627 million in the quarter, nearly doubling YoY. Walgreens CEO Roz Brewer shared that the COVID vaccine campaign had a “halo effect” on business in stores — customers with vaccine appointments bought products while waiting for their shots. Brewer intends for Walgreens to continue offering vaccines in the future.

But impressive numbers weren’t all that Walgreens had to offer for investors. The company wants the public to know that it’s done being “just a pharmacy.” The company is starting a new division called Walgreens Health, which will allow many of the brand’s 9,000 stores to offer doctor appointments, medical tests, and the like.

The company also acquired stakes in “several healthcare companies,” including a primary care company called VillageMD, a home healthcare company called CareCentrix, and a specialty pharmacy company called Shields Health.

All the excitement feels deeply reminiscent of CVS Health, which acquired insurance company Aetna in 2018. CVS also owns a pharmacy and clinic biz. You can call Walgreens a copycat, but investors really like this end-to-end model.

$WBA caught a 7.4% rip today on the good news.

[Prudent Capitalist]

The company stagnated under the leadership of Stephano Pessina following the WAG-Alliance Boots merger. He owned so much stock I am not sure he had much incentive to move everything forward. And, Europe, and in particular the UK with Brexit, were a drag. Roz Brewer is doing a great job IMO, and the future is very bright for WBA under this new leadership. I do not know that we will return to the previous $80 - $90 trading range any time soon, but I have continued to reinvest all dividends in new shares down at the recent undervalued levels and am not selling any of my WBA position.

P.S. I was in Italy (several regions) for a good part of September and was surprised at no branding of Boots or WBA on any of the Farmacia's. I had assumed with Pessina being the primary owner of the merger partner and all that there would be a recognizable presence in Italy, but maybe there is ownership but no branding. Given the testing requirements (we had to test negative to return to the US) the testing business is booming for the outlets over there.