Western Union (NYSE:WU) Trading Down 4.3% After Analyst Downgrade

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) shares were down 4.3% during trading on Monday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $9.50 to $8.50. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Western Union traded as low as $8.47 and last traded at $8.4960. Approximately 1,054,353 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 8,584,625 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.88.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Western Union from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Western Union from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Western Union in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $7.00 price target for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Union presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $8.45.

Insider Activity at Western Union

In related news, insider Benjamin Carlton Adams sold 19,924 shares of Western Union stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.23, for a total transaction of $183,898.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 234,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,166,179.47. The trade was a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Giovanni Angelini sold 6,000 shares of Western Union stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.47, for a total value of $56,820.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 311,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,947,935.24. This represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 3.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Western Union by 11,759.8% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Western Union by 35.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,407,960 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $96,898,000 after purchasing an additional 2,716,385 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Western Union by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,471,400 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $320,929,000 after purchasing an additional 1,171,810 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Western Union by 221.6% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 520,789 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,851,000 after buying an additional 358,877 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new stake in Western Union in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,234,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Trading Down 2.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.82. The stock has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.22, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.46.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.15). Western Union had a return on equity of 55.94% and a net margin of 10.88%.The company had revenue of $963.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.750-1.850 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.75 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is 69.12%.

Western Union Company Profile

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.