4-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: Walgreen Co.

Recs

19

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 130,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, drugstore giant Walgreen (NYSE: WAG) has earned a respected four-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Walgreen's business, and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Walgreen facts 

Headquarters (founded)

Deerfield, Ill. (1901)

Market Cap

$22 billion

Industry

Drug Stores

TTM Revenue

$59.95 billion

Management

CEO Gregory Wasson (since Feb. 2009)

CFO Wade Miquelon (since June 2008)

Return on Equity (average, last three years)

18.4%

Dividend Yield

1.9%

Competitors

CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS)

Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD)

Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT)

CAPS members bullish on WAG also bullish on

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ)

General Electric (NYSE: GE)

CAPS members bearish on WAG also bearish on

General Motors (NYSE: GM)

Sources: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's, and Motley Fool CAPS. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Over on CAPS, 94% of the 1,844 members who have rated Walgreen believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include All-Star DODEA, who is ranked in the top 20% of our community, and fellow Fool Matt Koppenheffer (TMFKopp).

In late January, DODEA noted that Walgreen "has an excellent DRIP program, including the ability to purchase directly from the company. It has a good balance sheet and deals with consumer necessities (medicine, health care) always in high demand."

In a more recent pitch from last month, Matt touches on the supertrend working in the stock's favor:

There's reason to be nervous about competition heating up, but I like the chances that the company swims against the tide in this economy, and then benefits from the boomers for years after that. I've thumbed up CVS too, but I like [Walgreen] a bit more due to historical efficiency/profitability and a somewhat better balance sheet.

What do you think about Walgreen, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. More than 130,000 investors are waiting to hear what you have to say. CAPS is 100% free, so simply click here to get started.

Like this article? Get our best articles delivered direct to your inbox at no cost. Sign up for Foolwatch Weekly by entering your email below.

Fool contributor Brian Pacampara owns no position in any of the companies mentioned. Wal-Mart is a Motley Fool Inside Value pick. Johnson & Johnson is a recommendation of Income Investor. The Fool's disclosure policy always gets a perfect score.

Comments from our Foolish Readers

Help us keep this a respectfully Foolish area! This is a place for our readers to discuss, debate, and learn more about the Foolish investing topic you read about above. Help us keep it clean and safe. If you believe a comment is abusive or otherwise violates our Fool's Rules, please report it via the Report this Comment Report this Comment icon found on every comment.

Be the first one to comment on this article.

Compare Brokers

TD AMERITRADE
more info
ShareBuilder
more info
Power E*Trade

more info
Scottrade
more info
Fool Disclosure

DocumentId: 845942, ~/Articles/ArticleHandler.aspx, 11/22/2009 3:50:48 PM

Report This Comment

Use this area to report a comment that you believe is in violation of the community guidelines. Our team will review the entry and take any appropriate action.

Sending report...

The Must-Read Story on Fool.com
An Open Letter to the Federal Reserve

Related Tickers

11/20/2009 4:00 PM
JNJ $62.31 Up +0.37 +0.60%
Johnson & Johnson CAPS Rating: *****
GE $15.59 Down -0.17 -1.08%
General Electric C… CAPS Rating: ****
GM $0.75 Down +0.00 +0.00%
General Motors Cor… CAPS Rating: *
RAD $1.28 Down -0.06 -4.48%
Rite Aid Corp CAPS Rating: **
CVS $31.64 Up +0.56 +1.80%
CVS Caremark Corp CAPS Rating: ****
WMT $54.28 Down -0.26 -0.48%
Wal-Mart Stores, I… CAPS Rating: ****
WAG $38.97 Down -0.06 -0.15%
Walgreen Company CAPS Rating: ****

Community: Investing Wiki

Term Of The Hour

Fed Model: The Fed Model (not endorsed by the Federal Reserve) hypothesizes that the market is in equilibrium when the earnings yield on the S&P 500 matches the yield on the 10 year Treasury note. Any dissonance in the relationship would show that equity valuations are out of whack.

Want to learn more or edit this definition?
Click here to read more!