Brokerages Set The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Price Target at $13.61

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) has received an average rating of “Reduce” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and eight have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $13.61.

Several research firms have commented on WU. Monness Crespi & Hardt assumed coverage on Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th.

Institutional Trading of Western Union

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Western Union by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 92,299 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,216,000 after acquiring an additional 2,189 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Western Union in the 3rd quarter valued at $461,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new position in Western Union during the 3rd quarter worth $411,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 7.7% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 321,236 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,234,000 after buying an additional 23,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 14.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 918,617 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $12,107,000 after buying an additional 114,350 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of WU stock opened at $12.26 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $12.94 and a 200-day moving average of $12.84. The stock has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a PE ratio of 7.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.85. Western Union has a one year low of $10.92 and a one year high of $14.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.38, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.05. Western Union had a net margin of 14.12% and a return on equity of 120.76%. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Western Union will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.67%. Western Union’s payout ratio is 55.62%.

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.