Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (WBA)

[Prudent Capitalist]

Market likes Walgreens' Village MD unit's $8.9 Billion deal to acquire Summit Health. WBA +3.8% today.

[leftovers]

Walgreens Boots (NASDAQ:WBA) declares $0.48/share quarterly dividend, in line with previous.

Forward yield 5.41%

Payable Dec. 12; for shareholders of record Nov. 15; ex-div Nov. 14.

[Stock_Barber]

Yes, stellar report!

[Prudent Capitalist]

Strong earnings report out from WBA today. And they upped the forward guidance. With WBA's share price +6.26% today the dividend yield is down to 6.01%, which is still great.

[Stock_Barber]

Yes, hearing loss is tied to aging.

The old rule of thumb was everyone gets 150 years of hearing. Go to a loud rock concert, subtract a year. Fire a gun without ear protection, take off another year.

Factory work, leaf blowers, high speed driving with the window down, nagging wife... all chip away at it!

Well, I added the wife part, but the rest is true!

Anyone who thinks hearing aids are like glasses i.e. they give you normal hearing is sadly mistaken!

Protect your hearing... once it is gone, it's gone!

I have perfect hearing, but know many people with hearing aids.

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[bar1080]

Similarly, they can surely link hearing loss to "falling" for transparent stock scams. Personally I think most hearing loss is caused by years of birthday cake consumption.

Post hoc ergo propter hoc

[Stock_Barber]

That is part of why the FDA regulated hearing aids... all marketing claims had to have research that could substantiate them!

Soon they'll be claiming that they cure cancer and help wearers lose weight!


.

[bar1080]

Hearing loss causes falls and dementia... according to his AD. Really???

"Researchers at Johns Hopkins, led by Frank Lin, MD, found that people with mild, moderate, and severe hearing loss had twofold, threefold, and fivefold increased risk of dementia. It's clear: hearing loss is a significant risk factor for dementia.

"Why would anyone risk losing their identity when hearing aids are an effective intervention?

"Hearing loss is the largest modifiable risk factor for developing dementia, exceeding that of smoking, high blood pressure, lack of exercise and social isolation. —Jane Brody from The New York Times, December 30, 2019"

https://www.sertomacenter.org/blog/

[bar1080]

Hearing loss causes falls and dementia... according to this AD. Really???

"Researchers at Johns Hopkins, led by Frank Lin, MD, found that people with mild, moderate, and severe hearing loss had twofold, threefold, and fivefold increased risk of dementia. It's clear: hearing loss is a significant risk factor for dementia.

"Why would anyone risk losing their identity when hearing aids are an effective intervention?

"Hearing loss is the largest modifiable risk factor for developing dementia, exceeding that of smoking, high blood pressure, lack of exercise and social isolation. —Jane Brody from The New York Times, December 30, 2019"

https://www.sertomacenter.org/blog/

[Stock_Barber]

"I've long wondered why hearing aids cost thousands of dollars "

Good question. It is a combination of things.

- It used to be quite complicated and expensive to develop the low voltage, low power draw circuits. That isn't really an issue anymore. And FDA compliance was somewhat costly.

- Custom in-the-ear products require many hours of labor to make.

- The customer can return the custom made product (usually within 30 days) for any reason, and it cannot be resold.

- The people who sold them were often businessmen, not audiologists. They make as much money as they can. People don't realize that the prices are totally negotiable, and don't even try!

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[bar1080]

Delighted to learn Walgreens will sell over-the counter hearing aids. "This announcement follows the passage of the OTC Hearing Aid Act by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which allows consumers to purchase hearing aids directly at retail stores and online, without a prescription." But not cheap at $799.

I don't have hearing problems but I kinda follow that industry, and as an old geezer my mail has been stuffed full of dubious, often misleading ads directed at my age group.

I've long wondered why hearing aids cost thousands of dollars when their electronics is simple by modern standards

Here's the full press release from Walgreens:.

"Walgreens and Lexie Hearing Announce Availability of Over-the-Counter (OTC) Hearing Aids at Walgreens Stores Nationwide."

"Once purchased, Lexie Hearing offers customers a complete hearing solution, including a professional-quality hearing check, hearing aids customized to their unique hearing profile, and access to hearing experts through video or voice calls."

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221006005319/en/

[Stock_Barber]

Exactly! I shop at CVS stores once in a while, and find the aisles to be cramped, and the product selection to be somewhat limited.

It also seems that, unless it is on sale, everything is more expensive at CVS. I don't think they can compete head to head!

And WAG's is smarter than to have stores in places where shoplifting is encouraged!


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[Prudent Capitalist]

Yep! Walgreens has more locations. where I am in the upper Midwest, CVS went around and tried to put a store right across the street from every Walgreens. You can drive by any time and see way more cars at the Walgreens stores. The reason the USDOJ opposed and stopped Walgreens' acquisition of all of Rite Aid was that Walgreens would have then been too dominant, so it only got to cherry pick some of the Rite Aid stores. That really killed RiteAid, when the DOJ would only approve the 3d amended plan of acquisition.

[Stock_Barber]

THAT is the myopic viewpoint...

[biotech_researcher]

Now I know the problem. You have a myopic view that’s just Chicagoland. That is old America. Come to the Sun belt and there’s a CVS on every corner..

[Stock_Barber]

There is a finite amount of ideal drug store locations... and Walgreens owns most of them...

By me (Chicagoland), Walgreens has prime corners and CVS is out of the way!

If one doesn't like Walgreens... don't buy it!

Simple, eh?

[biotech_researcher]

“CVS leases their stores, WBA owns them!”

You answered your own question. The rest of the world (Walmart, Target, Publix, restaurant changes) lease their properties, and don’t own them. It is because they can earn a return on their invested capital rather than sinking it into overhead, which a building is..

[Stock_Barber]

The yield and the share price are OBVIOUSLY connected by definition!

<HINT> When the market tanks, it takes down all boats!

CVS leases their stores, WBA owns them!

[biotech_researcher]

Was $53 in January this year, now $31.40. As I said, something appears to be wrong with WBA. I believe what is wrong is CVS rules this space..

[biotech_researcher]

Looks like crypto:

$WBA THIS LOOKS LIKE A CRPTO STOCK: pic.twitter.com/kzz0g7V9bD

— Obee1CanoBee (@TKTOM) October 3, 2022

[biotech_researcher]

You didn’t read my post. I don’t care about the past dividends. The stock chart of WBA looks like Crypto.. Something is amiss.

[Stock_Barber]

Did you click on the link?

The history is self-explanatory!

How is this confusing?

[biotech_researcher]

Dividend history is not what I’m concerned about. It’s dividends in the future..

[Stock_Barber]

There is absolutely nothing wrong...

Look at the dividend history!

https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/WBA/walgreens/dividend-yield-history

[biotech_researcher]

Something doesn’t seem right with WBA. That high yield scares the heck out of me..

[Prudent Capitalist]

Expert Ratings for Walgreens Boots Alliance:

According to 8 analyst offering 12-month price targets in the last 3 months, Walgreens Boots Alliance has an average price target of $42.25 with a high of $45.00 and a low of $38.00.

11:23 am ET September 22, 2022 (Benzinga)

[Prudent Capitalist]

Looking way oversold here, and with the divi now at 5.9% WBA should be viewed as a safe haven stock in these times in the market.

[Prudent Capitalist]

I was in our local Walgreens a week or so ago to pick up a prescription. There were 10-12 cars waiting in line for the double-lane drive through Rx pick-up so I went inside as I needed a couple of other items. I was 9 deep in the line to pick up my prescription and there were a few folks in line to get the new COVID vaccine. Before I got to the line, I walked down the aisle to pick up some deodorant, and there were several brands missing and a lot of empty shelf space. Same thing in the part of the vitamin aisle where the multi-vitamins are, including the Walgreens brands. Must be supply chain shortages, but they were filling and dispensing scripts as fast as they could. I overheard one of them behind the counter state they had gotten in 300 new scripts already just that day and were at least that far behind in filling them. Scripts should still be a cash cow as mine stated that my insurance saved me $793 on the 90-day supply.

[Prudent Capitalist]

It was for a while this year bar, but right now WBA is trading at 52-week and multi-year lows. the dividend is great, however, at 5.7%.

[leftovers]

Like I said we're being taken out to the woodshed today!

Everything I own is down. About 19 stocks

[bar1080]

Somehow WBA is one of my better stocks today. Everything I own is down. About 19 stocks. Bonds are down too. And probably the value of my home.

[leftovers]

Man O Man we're being taken out back to the wood shed on this issue!

[bar1080]

A lot more serous than a bad hair day. I can see why WBA isn't bouncing back.

[Stock_Barber]

That was funny!

Like this stupidity won't be appealed!

How can pharmacies be held responsible for filling prescriptions?

01:15 PM EDT, 08/18/2022 (MT Newswires) -- Walgreens (WBA) shares were down more than 6% in recent Thursday trading after a federal judge in Cleveland ordered the pharmacy chain, along with CVS Health (CVS) and Walmart (WMT), to pay a combined fine of about $650 million over their alleged failures in monitoring opioid prescriptions in two counties in Ohio

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[bar1080]

I have 3 or 4 stocks that always seem to trade perversely like that in the short run.

My portfolio is basically slightly up today except for WBA which acts like the CFO ran off with the cookie jar. Down 7.2% now!

[leftovers]

Hmmm looks like a bad hair day for WBA ...... One step forward 2 steps backward ?

Great to see WBA clawing northward

[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!


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[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!