Western Union (NYSE:WU) Price Target Cut to $12.00 by Analysts at Susquehanna

Western Union (NYSE:WU) had its price target decreased by Susquehanna from $13.00 to $12.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Susquehanna currently has a neutral rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

WU has been the topic of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays cut their target price on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.20.

Western Union Stock Performance

NYSE:WU opened at $11.01 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of 5.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.85. Western Union has a 52-week low of $10.04 and a 52-week high of $14.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (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%. Analysts forecast that Western Union will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

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

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s payout ratio is 48.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Union

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Western Union by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 50,387 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 0.5% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 238,876 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,849,000 after acquiring an additional 1,205 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in Western Union by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 88,410 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Western Union by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 13,177 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 89.3% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,226 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by 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.