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

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six investment 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 analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $8.5455.

A number of analysts have issued reports on WU shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded Western Union from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Western Union from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Western Union in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $7.00 price target for the company.

Western Union Stock Up 0.4%

Western Union stock opened at $7.88 on Tuesday. Western Union has a twelve month low of $6.91 and a twelve month high of $10.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $7.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.86. The company has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.88.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.25 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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 predict that Western Union will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.9%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is 69.12%.

Insider Transactions at Western Union

In other news, insider Benjamin Carlton Adams sold 19,924 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.23, for a total value of $183,898.52. Following the sale, the insider owned 234,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,166,179.47. The trade was a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Giovanni Angelini sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.47, for a total transaction of $56,820.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 311,292 shares in the company, valued at $2,947,935.24. The trade was 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 company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. 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 in the last quarter. Cambria Investment Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cambria Investment Management L.P. now owns 869,949 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,951,000 after purchasing an additional 144,405 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Western Union by 143.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 882,399 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,050,000 after purchasing an additional 519,427 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.