Brokerages Set The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Price Target at $10.78

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and six have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $10.78.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WU. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of Western Union from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $7.50 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $10.50 price target (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, April 24th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Union

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new position in Western Union during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its position in Western Union by 1,487.6% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 3,080 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 2,886 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Western Union by 80.2% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,264 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Western Union by 464.3% in the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 3,397 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 2,795 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WU opened at $9.93 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 3.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.72. Western Union has a fifty-two week low of $9.00 and a fifty-two week high of $13.17. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $983.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 96.90% and a net margin of 22.19%. The business’s revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Union will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.47%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.07%.

About Western Union

The Western Union Company provides money movement and payment services worldwide. The company operates through Consumer Money Transfer and Consumer Services segments. The Consumer Money Transfer segment facilitates money transfers for international cross-border and intra-country transfers, primarily through a network of retail agent locations, as well as through websites and mobile devices.