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

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the ten research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $12.86.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WU shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com raised Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, 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 note on Thursday, October 24th.

Institutional Trading of Western Union

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WU. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Western Union by 7,569.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,905,891 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $194,405,000 after acquiring an additional 13,724,584 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 17.7% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 9,736,930 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $118,985,000 after purchasing an additional 1,462,853 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Union by 62.8% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,730,450 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $45,586,000 after buying an additional 1,439,310 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Western Union by 52.0% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,337,466 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,784,000 after buying an additional 1,142,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Western Union during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $11,726,000. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of WU stock opened at $10.76 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $11.46 and its 200 day moving average is $12.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The stock has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.52, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.87. Western Union has a twelve month low of $10.51 and a twelve month high of $14.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Western Union will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.