Cantor Fitzgerald Reaffirms “Underweight” Rating for Western Union (NYSE:WU)

Western Union (NYSE:WU)‘s stock had its “underweight” rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $6.00 target price on the credit services provider’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald‘s price target would suggest a potential downside of 12.75% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on WU. Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $8.00 target price on shares of Western Union in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $8.00 target price (down from $9.00) on shares of Western Union in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Susquehanna restated a “neutral” rating and set a $7.00 target price on shares of Western Union in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Western Union from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $6.95.

Western Union Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:WU opened at $6.88 on Monday. Western Union has a fifty-two week low of $5.87 and a fifty-two week high of $10.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.01. The company has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.55 and a beta of 0.56.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.08. Western Union had a net margin of 8.32% and a return on equity of 49.12%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Western Union will post 1.30 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Western Union during the 2nd quarter worth $241,806,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Western Union by 15.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,902,175 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $68,989,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039,604 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Western Union by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,966,409 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $34,627,000 after acquiring an additional 645,451 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,163,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Western Union by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,789,861 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $24,355,000 after acquiring an additional 12,295 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Company Profile

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.