The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Receives $12.11 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) have been given a consensus rating of “Reduce” by the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and seven have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $12.11.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, February 6th.

Institutional Trading of Western Union

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of Western Union by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 22,298 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 982 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Western Union by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 50,387 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $534,000 after buying an additional 1,072 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in Western Union by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 88,410 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 14,233 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 1,493 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Western Union by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 61,606 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $653,000 after buying an additional 1,560 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WU opened at $10.64 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04. The company has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a PE ratio of 3.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.79. Western Union has a 12-month low of $10.04 and a 12-month high of $14.00. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.96.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a return on equity of 96.90% and a net margin of 22.19%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Western Union will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, December 13th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to buy up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.84%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.43%.

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.