The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Receives Consensus Rating of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) have received a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and seven have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $12.86.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WU shares. StockNews.com upgraded Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Western Union from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, UBS Group cut 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 report on Thursday, October 24th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its holdings in shares of Western Union by 17.7% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 591,965 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,143,000 after purchasing an additional 89,066 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in Western Union by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 296,837 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,150,000 after purchasing an additional 21,376 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in Western Union by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 323,059 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,511,000 after buying an additional 13,798 shares during the period. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Union during the first quarter valued at approximately $289,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Union during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Trading Up 1.8 %

WU opened at $11.06 on Wednesday. Western Union has a 1-year low of $10.51 and a 1-year high of $14.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $11.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a PE ratio of 5.67, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.02. Western Union had a return on equity of 120.39% and a net margin of 16.07%. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Western Union will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.