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

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) has earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the eleven analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and eight have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $12.11.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WU shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays decreased their target price on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Union

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WU. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 89.3% in the second 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 during the period. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Western Union by 52.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,588 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 895 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Western Union by 12.4% in the second quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 20,655 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 2,280 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in Western Union by 103.0% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 106,800 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,274,000 after buying an additional 54,200 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in Western Union by 33.4% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 26,148 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 6,554 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Union Stock Down 5.5 %

Shares of NYSE WU opened at $10.60 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. Western Union has a 52 week low of $10.04 and a 52 week high of $14.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.43, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $10.61 and its 200 day moving average is $11.27.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a return on equity of 120.39% and a net margin of 16.07%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Western Union will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.21%.

Western Union declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Friday, December 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.