Barclays Lowers Western Union (NYSE:WU) Price Target to $10.00

Western Union (NYSE:WUGet Free Report) had its target price dropped by stock analysts at Barclays from $11.00 to $10.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “underweight” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s target price suggests a potential downside of 7.06% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective 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. UBS Group decreased 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 report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Western Union has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.63.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on Western Union

Western Union Price Performance

Western Union stock opened at $10.76 on Friday. Western Union has a 1 year low of $10.51 and a 1 year high of $14.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $11.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.79. The company has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.52, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.86.

Western Union (NYSE:WUGet Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 120.39% and a net margin of 16.07%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Western Union will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, December 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Union

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WU. LSV Asset Management increased its position in Western Union by 17.7% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 9,736,930 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $118,985,000 after buying an additional 1,462,853 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Western Union by 62.8% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,730,450 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $45,586,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439,310 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Western Union by 52.0% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,337,466 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,784,000 after purchasing an additional 1,142,400 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Western Union in the 3rd quarter valued at $11,726,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Western Union by 5,731.4% in the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 787,943 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,629,000 after purchasing an additional 774,431 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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Analyst Recommendations for Western Union (NYSE:WU)

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