Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Western Union (NYSE:WU) Stock Price

Western Union (NYSE:WU) had its price target dropped by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $10.00 to $9.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underweight” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective indicates a potential downside of 19.69% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on WU. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.20.

Western Union Stock Performance

WU opened at $11.21 on Wednesday. Western Union has a 1-year low of $10.04 and a 1-year high of $14.19. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $10.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.27. The company has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a net margin of 16.07% and a return on equity of 120.39%. Research analysts predict that Western Union will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, December 13th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Western Union

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WU. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,305,933 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $66,843,000 after purchasing an additional 1,857,012 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Western Union during the 3rd quarter worth $11,726,000. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Western Union during the 3rd quarter worth $8,124,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Western Union by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,489,079 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $132,384,000 after acquiring an additional 549,931 shares during the period. Finally, Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Western Union during the 3rd quarter worth $6,190,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.