Yahoo Finance Can Value Investors Choose Walgreens Boots (WBA) Stock?
Value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. After all, who wouldn’t want to find stocks that are either flying under the radar and are compelling buys, or offer up tantalizing discounts when compared to fair value?
One way to find these companies is by looking at several key metrics and financial ratios, many of which are crucial in the value stock selection process. Let’s put Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. WBA stock into this equation and find out if it is a good choice for value-oriented investors right now, or if investors subscribing to this methodology should look elsewhere for top picks:
PE Ratio
A key metric that value investors always look at is the Price to Earnings Ratio, or PE for short. This shows us how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings in a given stock, and is easily one of the most popular financial ratios in the world. The best use of the PE ratio is to compare the stock’s current PE ratio with: a) where this ratio has been in the past; b) how it compares to the average for the industry/sector; and c) how it compares to the market as a whole.
On this front, Walgreens Boots has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 9.88, as you can see in the chart below:
This level actually compares pretty favorably with the market at large, as the PE for the S&P 500 stands at about 20.23. If we focus on the long-term PE trend, Walgreens Boots’s current PE level puts it below its midpoint of 16.64 over the past five years. Moreover, the current level stands well below the highs for the stock, suggesting that it can be a solid entry point.
Further, the stock’s PE also compares favorably with the Zacks Retail-Wholesale sector’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 28.86. At the very least, this indicates that the stock is relatively undervalued right now, compared to its peers.
We should also point out that Walgreens Boots has a forward PE ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of just 10.04, so it is fair to say that a slightly more value-oriented path may be ahead for Walgreens Boots stock in the near term too.
P/S Ratio
Another key metric to note is the Price/Sales ratio. This approach compares a given stock’s price to its total sales, where a lower reading is generally considered better. Some people like this metric more than other value-focused ones because it looks at sales, something that is far harder to manipulate with accounting tricks than earnings.
Right now, Walgreens Boots has a P/S ratio of about 0.39. This is a bit lower than the S&P 500 average, which comes in at 3.5x right now. Also, as we can see in the chart below, this is well below the highs for this stock in particular over the past few years.
If anything, this suggests some level of undervalued trading—at least compared to historical norms.
Broad Value Outlook
In aggregate, Walgreens Boots currently has a Value Score of A, putting it into the top 20% of all stocks we cover from this look. This makes Walgreens Boots a solid choice for value investors, and some of its other key metrics make this pretty clear too.
What About the Stock Overall?
Though Walgreens Boots might be a good choice for value investors, there are plenty of other factors to consider before investing in this name. In particular, it is worth noting that the company has a Growth Score of B and a Momentum Score of D. This gives WBA a Zacks VGM score — or its overarching fundamental grade — of A. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>)
The consensus estimate in the current year did not witness any changes in the past two months, while the next year estimate has inched higher by 0.3%. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below:
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. Price and Consensus
This somewhat mixed trend is why the stock has just a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and why we are looking for in-line performance from the company in the near term.
Bottom Line
Walgreens Boots is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front. Further, a strong industry rank (among Top 12% of more than 250 industries) instills our confidence. However, over the past two years, the Zacks Retail - Pharmacies And Drug Stores industry has clearly underperformed the broader market, as you can see below:
So, value investors might want to wait for estimates and analyst sentiment to turn around in this name first, but once that happens, this stock could be a compelling pick.
The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of All
Last year, it generated $24 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $77.6 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce "the world's first trillionaires," but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early.
See Zacks' 3 Best Stocks to Play This Trend >>
Click to get this free report Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research
