The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Analysts

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) has earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the eleven research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and eight have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $12.11.

WU has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective 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.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of WU stock opened at $10.60 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.88, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.85. Western Union has a fifty-two week low of $10.04 and a fifty-two week high of $14.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $10.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.24.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%. Analysts expect that Western Union will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Friday, December 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are 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 paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.87%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.43%.

Institutional Trading of Western Union

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,072 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in Western Union by 0.5% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 238,876 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,849,000 after purchasing an additional 1,205 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 1.4% in the third 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 during the period. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 12.9% in the third quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 13,177 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is 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.