The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Receives $13.61 Average PT from Analysts

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) has earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $13.61.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Monness Crespi & Hardt assumed coverage on Western Union in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Western Union from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Union

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WU. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Western Union during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Union during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Western Union by 500.5% in the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,312 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,927 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in Western Union during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Western Union during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Union Trading Down 0.7 %

WU stock opened at $12.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.38, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $12.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.83. Western Union has a fifty-two week low of $10.92 and a fifty-two week high of $14.19.

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

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.