Walgreen Company (WAG): Today's Featured Retail Laggard

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

Walgreen Company (WAG) pushed the Retail industry lower today making it today's featured Retail laggard. The industry as a whole closed the day down 2%. By the end of trading, Walgreen Company fell $1.17 (-2.8%) to $40.64 on light volume. Throughout the day, 5.1 million shares of Walgreen Company exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 6.8 million shares. The stock ranged in price between $40.61-$41.99 after having opened the day at $41.98 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $41.81. Other companies within the Retail industry that declined today were: Dillards (DDS), down 9.4%, Lumber Liquidators Holdings (LL), down 6.7%, Christopher & Banks Corporation (CBK), down 5.9%, and ALCO Stores (ALCS), down 5.7%.

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Walgreen Co., together with its subsidiaries, operates a network of drugstores in the United States. It provides consumer goods and services, pharmacy, and health and wellness services through drugstores, as well as through mail, and by telephone and online. Walgreen Company has a market cap of $39.34 billion and is part of the services sector. The company has a P/E ratio of 18.7, above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Shares are up 13% year to date as of the close of trading on Friday. Currently there are nine analysts that rate Walgreen Company a buy, one analyst rates it a sell, and eight rate it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates Walgreen Company as a buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its solid stock price performance, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and attractive valuation levels. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had sub par growth in net income.

• You can view the full Walgreen Ratings Report.

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For investors not wanting singular stock exposure, ETFs may be of interest. Investors who are bullish on the retail industry could consider SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) while those bearish on the retail industry could consider ProShares Ultra Sht Consumer Goods (SZK).

• Find other investment ideas from our top rated ETFs lists.

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For more information on Walgreen Company click any of the following:

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• Walgreen Company Income Statement