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

Editor's Note: Any reference to TheStreet Ratings and its underlying recommendation does not reflect the opinion of TheStreet, Inc. or any of its contributors including Jim Cramer or Stephanie Link.

Walgreen Company ( WAG) pushed the Retail industry higher today making it today's featured retail winner. The industry as a whole closed the day down 0.7%. By the end of trading, Walgreen Company rose $2.54 (5.0%) to $53.29 on heavy volume. Throughout the day, 12,148,402 shares of Walgreen Company exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 5,447,300 shares. The stock ranged in a price between $50.88-$53.48 after having opened the day at $51.04 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $50.75. Other companies within the Retail industry that increased today were: Coastal Contacts ( COA), up 6.2%, Sears Holdings Corporation ( SHLD), up 5.4%, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage ( NGVC), up 4.1% and New York & Company ( NWY), up 3.8%.

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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 $47.9 billion and is part of the services sector. Shares are up 36.9% year to date as of the close of trading on Wednesday. Currently there are 9 analysts that rate Walgreen Company a buy, 1 analyst rates it a sell, and 7 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 revenue growth, increase in net income, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, solid stock price performance and growth in earnings per share. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had somewhat disappointing return on equity.

You can view the full Walgreen Company Ratings Report.

On the negative front, Men's Wearhouse ( MW), down 12.1%, China Jo-Jo Drugstores ( CJJD), down 8.9%, Conn's ( CONN), down 5.2% and Gaiam Inc. Class A ( GAIA), down 4.1% , were all laggards within the retail industry with Target ( TGT) being today's retail industry laggard.

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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).