Royal Bank of Canada Has Lowered Expectations for Western Union (NYSE:WU) Stock Price

Western Union (NYSE:WU) had its price target lowered by Royal Bank of Canada from $14.00 to $13.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sector perform rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $10.50 price target (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.78.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of WU stock opened at $10.14 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.69. Western Union has a 52 week low of $9.00 and a 52 week high of $13.60. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.66.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.01. Western Union had a net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%. The company had revenue of $983.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Western Union will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.27%. Western Union’s payout ratio is presently 35.07%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Union

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 608,454 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,257,000 after acquiring an additional 51,327 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 118,711 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,416,000 after purchasing an additional 5,143 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Union during the 3rd quarter valued at about $381,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Union during the 3rd quarter valued at about $310,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Union by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 88,410 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,055,000 after buying an additional 1,230 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

About Western Union

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.