The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Receives $12.11 Consensus PT from Brokerages

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) has received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the ten brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $12.11.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. 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 dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th.

Western Union Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WU opened at $10.64 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.90, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.79. Western Union has a 52-week low of $10.04 and a 52-week high of $14.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.20.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a return on equity of 96.90% and a net margin of 22.19%. Analysts expect that Western Union will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Western Union declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, December 13th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.84%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is 34.43%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in Western Union by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 22,298 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 982 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 50,387 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $534,000 after buying an additional 1,072 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Union by 1.4% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 88,410 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,055,000 after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in Western Union by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 14,233 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $151,000 after acquiring an additional 1,493 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Western Union by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 61,606 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $653,000 after acquiring an additional 1,560 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

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.