The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Strong Sell” by Brokerages

Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Strong Sell” from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and six have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $7.5455.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Western Union from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $8.00 price objective on shares of Western Union in a research note on Friday, July 31st. New Street Research reaffirmed a “reduce” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on shares of Western Union from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Western Union from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 15.5% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 39,859 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 5,351 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Western Union by 27.4% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,964,972 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $20,789,000 after buying an additional 422,715 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Western Union by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,861,908 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $19,699,000 after buying an additional 154,110 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in Western Union by 93.5% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 27,535 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 13,302 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in Western Union by 24.7% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 36,874 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 7,314 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Trading Down 2.4%

WU opened at $7.01 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.70 and a beta of 0.50. Western Union has a 52 week low of $6.27 and a 52 week high of $10.35. The business’s 50 day moving average is $7.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 50.89%. Western Union’s revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.37 earnings per share. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.350 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Western Union will post 1.29 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 16th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.42%.

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.