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

Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) have received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $12.63.

Several brokerages recently commented on WU. UBS Group reduced 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 report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of WU opened at $10.71 on Friday. Western Union has a 1 year low of $10.51 and a 1 year high of $14.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $11.02 and a 200-day moving average of $11.73.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 16.07% and a return on equity of 120.39%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Western Union will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, December 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.78%. Western Union’s payout ratio is currently 48.21%.

Institutional Trading of Western Union

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WU. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Union during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Western Union by 52.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,588 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew 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 buying an additional 1,522 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 31.1% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,316 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Western Union during the third quarter valued at $60,000. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.