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

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) has earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and ten have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $8.8182.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Western Union from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Western Union to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Western Union from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Western Union from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Western Union by 11,759.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,954,045 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $74,052,000 after purchasing an additional 7,886,978 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Western Union by 401.4% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,604,026 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $70,793,000 after buying an additional 6,087,613 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in Western Union by 48.5% in the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 13,240,037 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $111,481,000 after buying an additional 4,321,604 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 821.1% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 4,170,343 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,114,000 after acquiring an additional 3,717,589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Discerene Group LP increased its position in shares of Western Union by 55.1% during the second quarter. Discerene Group LP now owns 10,366,558 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $87,286,000 after acquiring an additional 3,684,366 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Union Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:WU opened at $9.79 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.28, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.52. Western Union has a 1 year low of $7.85 and a 1 year high of $11.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 22nd were given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 22nd. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.6%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.05%.

About Western Union

Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments. The company enables individuals and businesses to send and receive money through a variety of channels, including its vast agent network, online platforms, and mobile applications. Core services include person-to-person money transfers, business-to-business cross-border payments, bill payment services and prepaid card programs.

Through its digital offerings, Western Union provides customers with the ability to initiate transfers via its website and mobile app, as well as track transactions in real time.