The company named industry veteran Tim Wentworth as chief executive late Tuesday, and he will take over as the global pharmacy chain is in a tough spot.
Shares are down 40.1% this year, despite an extremely high dividend yield of 8.4%, according to FactSet, which some analysts have suggested is unsustainable.Wentworth, most recently CEO of a Cigna division that includes its pharmacy benefit manager, was formerly the CEO of Express Scripts, the pharmacy benefit manager that Cigna acquired in 2018.
Wall Street analysts expect the company to report fourth quarter earnings of $0.69 per share, down from $0.80 in the same quarter last year, according to FactSet. They expect full-year fiscal 2023 earnings of $4, down from $5.04 in 2022 and $4.91 in 2021. Analysts expect sales of $34.8 billion for the quarter.
In a note on Tuesday, shortly ahead of the CEO announcement, Mizuho analyst Ann Hynes, who has a neutral rating on Walgreens, dropped her target price to $25, from $31. J.P. Morgan analyst Lisa Gill, who also has a neutral rating on the stock, cut her target price to $27, from $33, on Oct. 5.