Walgreens (NYSE:WAG)

Walgreens is an American pharmacy chain established in 1901 and present throughout the United States. Its headquarters are in Deerfield, a suburb of Chicago (Illinois). WAG sells both prescription and non-prescription drugs as well as retail products (cosmetics, food, photo processing services, seasonal items, etc.). The company operates approximately 7,000 retail stores in the United States. As the baby boomers, the need for drugs is likely to increase further in the coming years and boost the firm's sales.

WAG currently offers a yield of 2.70%, significantly higher than the long-term average of only 1.58%. This is explained by a forte average annual dividend growth, of 24%. The company has managed to increase its shareholders' pocket money for 36 consecutive years. Despite this growth, the distribution ratio remains very cautious, with 27.06%.

WAG has performed well against the S&P over the long term, but this comes at the cost of volatility assez élevée compared to our other investments, with 20%. We also see in the graph below that the title is sensitive to market variations, which is confirmed by a beta of 0.97.

As a company focused on the US market, WAG is very sensitive to dollar fluctuations, a fall in the USD/CHF being in principle accompanied by a loss in the value of the security in CHF ($risk of 0.74).

WAG possède certaines qualités que l'on recherche chez un bon payeur de dividendes, comme une longue croissance soutenue et un faible distribution ratio, mais le rendement n'est pas très élevé, et le titre est sensible aux variations du marché des devises et des actions. C'est donc un titre que nous surveillons, mais que nous ne considérons pas comme une opportunité d'achat actuellement. Il est par contre bien sûr to keep for those who already own it.

Sources: Wikipedia, Wikinvest, Swissquote, dividends.ch