Western Union (NYSE:WU) Lowered to Strong Sell Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Western Union (NYSE:WU) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Western Union from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Western Union from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Western Union from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on shares of Western Union from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Western Union from $8.50 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus price target of $7.55.

Western Union Price Performance

Western Union stock opened at $7.23 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95. The company has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.88, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $7.72 and its 200-day moving average is $8.69. Western Union has a 12 month low of $6.27 and a 12 month high of $10.35.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 50.89%. The company’s revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.37 EPS. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.350 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Western Union will post 1.29 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.0%. Western Union’s payout ratio is presently 76.42%.

Institutional Trading of Western Union

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WU. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,471,400 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $320,929,000 after purchasing an additional 1,171,810 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Western Union by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,984,472 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $130,195,000 after purchasing an additional 580,264 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Western Union by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,081,062 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $121,785,000 after purchasing an additional 624,397 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Western Union by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,746,779 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $99,891,000 after purchasing an additional 962,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Western Union by 35.3% in the fourth 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. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.