One of the great controversies of retailing in the last, oh, 10 years or so has been “Will we be open on Thanksgiving Day?” Some point out that people still need things, even on Thanksgiving, so being open at least some hours isn’t a bad plan. Others, meanwhile, tell those people they should have planned ahead because even retail workers have a right to be with their families on Thanksgiving. Walgreens (NASDAQ:WBA), with the sting of recent pharmacist strikes still likely in memory, is cutting through the Gordian knot here by just closing outright, at least for the most part.
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This is the first time in history that Walgreens stores will be closed Thanksgiving Day, reports note, and with that, eschew a slug of business from people picking up prescriptions and that last-minute gallon of milk. However, Walgreens won’t be shutting all of its stores down…just the ones that would have been closed from the night before anyway. “Nearly all” 24-hour Walgreens locations will remain open, a move that “…give(s) team members time with their loved ones,” reports note. Chief Customer Officer Tracey Brown, meanwhile, declared that “…time off is a meaningful way for us to demonstrate we value them (our team members).”
The Obvious Questions May Apply
Of course, several obvious questions follow in the wake of this announcement, like why the employees at 24-hour Walgreens locations get no time off. Further, it’s worth wondering how much of this move was connected to the recent pharmacist walkouts. Given that Walgreens has over 700 24-hour locations, that sounds like a lot of people will be out and working that day, despite the good feeling emanating from Tracey Brown. Further, reports note that other Walgreens workers won’t be getting time off with their families, including certain distribution centers as well as teams connected to the supply chain.
Is Walgreens Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on WBA stock based on two Buys, six Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 46.96% loss in its share price over the past year, the average WBA price target of $26.89 per share implies 30.03% upside potential.
