UBS Group Lowers Western Union (NYSE:WU) Price Target to $12.00

Western Union (NYSE:WU) had its price objective lowered by UBS Group from $13.50 to $12.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on WU. StockNews.com upgraded Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Western Union in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Western Union from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.86.

Western Union Stock Performance

WU opened at $11.17 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.98, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.35. Western Union has a 1-year low of $10.92 and a 1-year high of $14.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 123.71% and a net margin of 13.64%. The company’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Western Union will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Union

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Western Union by 7,569.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,905,891 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $194,405,000 after buying an additional 13,724,584 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management raised its position in shares of Western Union by 17.7% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 9,736,930 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $118,985,000 after buying an additional 1,462,853 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Western Union by 62.8% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,730,450 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $45,586,000 after buying an additional 1,439,310 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Western Union by 52.0% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,337,466 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,784,000 after buying an additional 1,142,400 shares during the period. Finally, M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of Western Union in the 1st quarter worth $12,051,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Company Profile

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.