The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” from Brokerages

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and eight have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $13.61.

WU has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Western Union from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Timothy P. Murphy bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $12.85 per share, with a total value of $128,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 56,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $722,234.25. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Union

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. grew its holdings in shares of Western Union by 546.6% during the first quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 343,986 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,809,000 after buying an additional 290,787 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in Western Union by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,071,228 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $14,976,000 after purchasing an additional 112,066 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 5.5% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,252,897 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,516,000 after purchasing an additional 65,087 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 13.0% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 38,083 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $532,000 after purchasing an additional 4,379 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 25.7% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 317,656 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,441,000 after buying an additional 64,967 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of Western Union stock opened at $13.38 on Friday. Western Union has a 52-week low of $10.92 and a 52-week high of $14.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.38, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.62. The firm has a market cap of $4.53 billion, a PE ratio of 7.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.84.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 14.12% and a return on equity of 120.76%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Western Union will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.03%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.62%.

Western Union Company Profile

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.