Western Union (NYSE:WU) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $7.21 and last traded at $7.2650, with a volume of 8658525 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.49.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Western Union from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $8.82.

Western Union Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $8.54 and a 200-day moving average of $9.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.88.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.15). Western Union had a return on equity of 55.94% and a net margin of 10.88%.The business had revenue of $963.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.750-1.850 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.9%. Western Union’s payout ratio is 69.12%.

Insider Transactions at Western Union

In other Western Union news, insider Benjamin Carlton Adams sold 19,924 shares of Western Union stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.23, for a total value of $183,898.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 234,689 shares in the company, valued at $2,166,179.47. The trade was a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Giovanni Angelini sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.47, for a total value of $56,820.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 311,292 shares in the company, valued at $2,947,935.24. The trade was a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 3.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Western Union by 197.3% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 6,516 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 4,324 shares during the period. Ritter Alpha LP acquired a new position in shares of Western Union during the first quarter valued at $248,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 43.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,838,382 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $33,509,000 after acquiring an additional 1,163,577 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems bought a new position in shares of Western Union during the first quarter worth about $398,000. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors bought a new position in shares of Western Union during the first quarter worth about $89,000. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Western Union

Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments. The company enables individuals and businesses to send and receive money through a variety of channels, including its vast agent network, online platforms, and mobile applications. Core services include person-to-person money transfers, business-to-business cross-border payments, bill payment services and prepaid card programs.

Through its digital offerings, Western Union provides customers with the ability to initiate transfers via its website and mobile app, as well as track transactions in real time.