The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and seven have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $12.11.

WU has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of WU opened at $10.49 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.98. Western Union has a fifty-two week low of $10.04 and a fifty-two week high of $14.00. The stock has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a PE ratio of 3.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.20.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%. Analysts anticipate that Western Union will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.97%. Western Union’s payout ratio is 34.43%.

Western Union announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, December 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,055,661 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $403,390,000 after acquiring an additional 317,711 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Western Union by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 28,983,265 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $307,224,000 after buying an additional 4,426,126 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Western Union by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,926,192 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $154,209,000 after purchasing an additional 52,081 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Western Union by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,489,079 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $132,384,000 after purchasing an additional 549,931 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Western Union by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,206,431 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $118,788,000 after buying an additional 3,146,395 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

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.