Western Union (NYSE:WU) PT Raised to $14.00

Western Union (NYSE:WU) had its target price increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $13.00 to $14.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underweight rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on WU. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a report on Thursday. Monness Crespi & Hardt initiated coverage on shares of Western Union in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a neutral rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an underperform rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Union has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $13.45.

Western Union Stock Up 1.4 %

WU opened at $13.47 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $13.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.61. Western Union has a twelve month low of $10.37 and a twelve month high of $14.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.97, a PEG ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 0.85.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.05. Western Union had a net margin of 14.12% and a return on equity of 120.76%. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Western Union will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.98%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.62%.

Insider Transactions at Western Union

In other news, Director Timothy P. Murphy acquired 10,000 shares of Western Union stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $12.85 per share, with a total value of $128,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 56,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $722,234.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Western Union

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 59.5% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 11,588 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $153,000 after acquiring an additional 4,324 shares during the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 134.8% during the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,956 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Union during the third quarter worth $667,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 92.2% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,366 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edmp Inc. boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 7.4% during the third quarter. Edmp Inc. now owns 17,704 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $233,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Union Company Profile

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.