Brokerages Set The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) PT at $8.82

Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $8.8182.

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of 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 reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Western Union to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Union

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. RiverFront Investment Group LLC raised its position in shares of Western Union by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 28,662 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Western Union by 67.0% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,331 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,336 shares during the last quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of Western Union by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors now owns 9,992 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 1,381 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Western Union by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 239,428 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,229,000 after purchasing an additional 1,398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Michels Family Financial LLC increased its holdings in Western Union by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Michels Family Financial LLC now owns 46,722 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $373,000 after buying an additional 1,436 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Union Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE:WU opened at $8.80 on Friday. Western Union has a 1-year low of $7.85 and a 1-year high of $10.36. The company has a 50-day moving average of $9.41 and a 200 day moving average of $9.07. The firm has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a PE ratio of 5.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.00, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 20th. The credit services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 12.33% and a return on equity of 62.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.750-1.850 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Western Union will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th were given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.84%.

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.