The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Stock Rated “Reduce” by Wall Street Analysts

Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $7.18.

WU has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $8.00 price objective on shares of Western Union in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research raised Western Union from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on shares of Western Union from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of Western Union stock opened at $6.08 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.11. Western Union has a twelve month low of $5.87 and a twelve month high of $10.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.11). Western Union had a return on equity of 50.89% and a net margin of 9.79%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.37 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Western Union will post 1.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.2350 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 15.4%. Western Union’s payout ratio is 76.42%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WU. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Western Union during the 2nd quarter worth $241,806,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 15.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,902,175 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $68,989,000 after buying an additional 1,039,604 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Western Union by 19.4% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,966,409 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,627,000 after acquiring an additional 645,451 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Western Union by 43.5% during the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 1,163,577 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Western Union by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,789,861 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $24,355,000 after purchasing an additional 12,295 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Western Union

Western Union is a global provider of money movement and payment services. Through its branded digital platforms and retail agent network, the company enables consumers to send and receive money, transfer funds between bank accounts and digital wallets, pay bills, and purchase money orders in select markets.

The company serves customers across more than 200 countries and territories, with services available through physical locations as well as its website and mobile application. Its operations connect individuals and businesses across international borders, supporting both cash-based transactions and account-to-account transfers.

Western Union traces its origins to 1851, when it was established as a telegraph company before expanding into money transfer and payment services.