Analysts Set The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Target Price at $13.05

Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the ten brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and eight have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $13.25.

WU has been the topic of several analyst reports. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Monness Crespi & Hardt initiated coverage on Western Union in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Western Union from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, January 4th.

Western Union Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of WU stock opened at $12.84 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $13.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.61. Western Union has a twelve month low of $10.37 and a twelve month high of $14.19. The company has a market capitalization of $4.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.23.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.37. Western Union had a return on equity of 113.63% and a net margin of 14.37%. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Western Union will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.32%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.95%.

Insider Transactions at Western Union

In related news, Director Timothy P. Murphy purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $12.85 per share, with a total value of $128,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 56,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $722,234.25. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Union

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of Western Union by 969.5% in the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 765,613 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,192,000 after purchasing an additional 694,026 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Western Union by 799.8% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,865,335 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $37,615,000 after purchasing an additional 2,546,885 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Western Union by 11.9% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,299,090 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $30,302,000 after purchasing an additional 244,286 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union in the third quarter valued at $527,000. Finally, Comerica Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union in the second quarter valued at $5,078,000. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.