Evercore ISI Boosts Western Union (NYSE:WU) Price Target to $14.00

Western Union (NYSE:WU) had its target price hoisted by Evercore ISI from $13.00 to $14.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an in-line rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Western Union in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. Monness Crespi & Hardt began coverage on Western Union in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a neutral rating on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on Western Union from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Wolfe Research restated an underperform rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Western Union from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $13.05.

Western Union Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:WU opened at $13.71 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $13.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.55. Western Union has a 52-week low of $10.37 and a 52-week high of $14.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $4.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.16, a P/E/G ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 0.84.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.37. Western Union had a return on equity of 113.63% and a net margin of 14.37%. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Western Union will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is 55.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Union

In other news, Director Timothy P. Murphy purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $12.85 per share, with a total value of $128,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 56,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $722,234.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Union

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 8.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,774,680 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $617,958,000 after acquiring an additional 3,522,420 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 2.3% during the third quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 17,854,661 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $235,324,000 after acquiring an additional 408,661 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 10.4% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,856,481 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $315,890,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592,331 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 10.5% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,498,861 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $151,555,000 after acquiring an additional 1,088,247 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 17.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,882,154 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $130,247,000 after acquiring an additional 1,439,595 shares during the period. 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.