The Dividend Daily

On Friday drugstore chain Walgreen Company (WAG) said its December sales fell -4% and overall calendar 2012 sales fell -3.7%.

The Deerfield, Illinois-based company said its December total front-end sales decreased -1.3% compared to the same month in 2011, while comparable store front-end sales decreased -2.3%.

On the pharmacy side of business, Walgreens said total sales fell -4.9% while comparable store pharmacy sales fell -8.9%. The company was negatively impacted compared to December 2011 because of the one additional Sunday and Monday and one fewer Thursday and Friday. Overall, pharmacy sales accounted for 56.7% of total sales in December 2012.

For calendar 2012, sales were $70.51 billion, a decrease of -3.7% from $73.19 billion in 2011. For the first four months of fiscal 2013 sales were $24.03 billion, down -4.4% compared to the $25.15 billion in sales in the first four months of fiscal 2012.

Walgreens shares were down 29 cents, or -0.77%, in premarket trading on Friday.

The Bottom Line
Shares of Walgreen Company (WAG) have a 2.91% dividend yield, based on last night’s closing stock price of $37.79. The stock has technical support in the $34-$35 price area. If the shares can firm up, we see overhead resistance around the $38-$40 price levels.

Walgreen Company (WAG) is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.3 out of 5 stars.

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