Walgreens Is Cutting Its Big-Time Dividend. Time to Buy the Beaten-Down Dow Stock?
Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ: WBA) got the bad news out early in 2024. The pharmacy company is cutting its dividend by nearly 50%. That ended a streak of 47 years of dividend growth.
That reduction will enable Walgreens to retain more cash to fund its growth and strengthen its balance sheet. Here's a look at whether now's the time to buy the beaten-down member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which lost 30% of its value last year compared to the iconic index's nearly 14% rise.
Walgreens had a rich history of paying dividends. The integrated healthcare, pharmacy, and retail company has paid dividends for 364 straight quarters (91 years). It had increased its payout for 47 consecutive years. That put it among the dividend elite and only a few years away from becoming a Dividend King (companies with 50 or more years of dividend increases).
Source Fool.com
