Western Union (NYSE:WU) Upgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

Western Union (NYSE:WU) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

WU has been the topic of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Western Union in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Western Union from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.86.

Western Union Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WU opened at $11.17 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a PE ratio of 6.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.98, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. Western Union has a 52-week low of $10.92 and a 52-week high of $14.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $11.85 and a 200 day moving average of $12.36.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 123.71% and a net margin of 13.64%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Western Union will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Union during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in Western Union by 52.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,588 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Union during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Western Union by 89.3% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,226 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 59.9% in the 1st quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,233 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

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.