Western Union (NYSE:WU) Sets New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $10.39 and last traded at $10.39, with a volume of 2625796 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $10.60.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on WU shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.63.

Western Union Trading Down 1.8 %

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.61. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.03%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. Western Union’s payout ratio is 48.21%.

Western Union announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, December 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Union

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Union in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings 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 during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Western Union by 89.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 31.1% in the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,316 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024 shares during the period. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Western Union in the third quarter valued at $60,000. 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.