Drug store chain operator Walgreen Company (WAG) on Thursday posted a sharp downturn in August comparable sales, hurt partially by the introduction of new lower-cost generic drugs.

The Deerfield, IL-based company reported an 8.2% drop in August same-store sales. Same-store sales, also known as comparable sales, are a key metric used to measure a retailers performance, since they only take into account sales at locations open at least one year.

Total sales fell 4.5% in August to $5.85 billion.

WAG noted that the introduction of new lower-priced generic drugs hurt its comparable sales by about 5.1 percentage points.

Walgreen shares fell $1.63, or -4.5%, in premarket trading Thursday.

The Bottom Line
Shares of Walgreen Company (WAG) have a 3.07% dividend yield, based on last night’s closing stock price of $35.88. The stock has technical support in the $32 price area. If the shares can firm up, we see overhead resistance around the $37-$38 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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