UBS Group Lowers Western Union (NYSE:WU) Price Target to $12.00

Western Union (NYSE:WU) had its target price cut by UBS Group from $13.50 to $12.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on WU. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com raised Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Western Union from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Union has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.86.

Western Union Trading Up 0.1 %

WU opened at $11.17 on Thursday. Western Union has a 12 month low of $10.92 and a 12 month high of $14.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.61, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.98, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $11.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.35.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.02. Western Union had a return on equity of 123.71% and a net margin of 13.64%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. Western Union’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Western Union will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Western Union

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WU. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Western Union during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 112,237 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,569,000 after buying an additional 1,793 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 110.3% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,047 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $140,000 after buying an additional 5,269 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Union during the 1st quarter worth approximately $201,000. Finally, Insight Folios Inc purchased a new position in shares of Western Union during the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,388,000. 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.