The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) have been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the ten brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and seven have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $12.11.

WU has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays cut their price target on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Western Union by 52.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 15,433 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $184,000 after buying an additional 5,292 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its position in Western Union by 90.8% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 162,403 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,937,000 after acquiring an additional 77,290 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in Western Union by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 523,676 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,247,000 after purchasing an additional 83,715 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Western Union by 293.3% in the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 198,002 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,362,000 after purchasing an additional 147,658 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC grew its position in Western Union by 48.7% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 284,904 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,399,000 after purchasing an additional 93,280 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of Western Union stock opened at $10.48 on Tuesday. Western Union has a 1 year low of $10.04 and a 1 year high of $13.95. The company has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $10.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.94.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 96.90% and a net margin of 22.19%. As a group, analysts expect that Western Union will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, December 13th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.97%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is 34.43%.

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.