Cantor Fitzgerald Lowers Western Union (NYSE:WU) Price Target to $7.00

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald cut Western Union’s price target from $8.00 to $7.00 and maintained an “underweight” rating, adding to broadly negative analyst sentiment. MarketBeat reports an average rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus target of $7.68.
• Western Union shares opened at $6.36, near their one-year low of $6.27, after the company missed quarterly earnings expectations with adjusted EPS of $0.31 versus the $0.42 consensus and revenue of $1.01 billion versus $1.02 billion expected.
• Institutional investors own approximately 91.81% of Western Union’s stock, with several major investors—including Capital Research, Vanguard and HSBC—recently increasing their positions.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald from $8.00 to $7.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "underweight" rating on the credit services provider's stock. Cantor Fitzgerald's target price points to a potential upside of 10.15% from the company's current price.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on WU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Western Union from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 13th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings cut Western Union from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $8.00 price target on shares of Western Union in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Western Union from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Western Union currently has an average rating of "Strong Sell" and an average target price of $7.68.

Western Union Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of WU stock opened at $6.36 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $7.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The company has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.17, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.48. Western Union has a 1 year low of $6.27 and a 1 year high of $10.35.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.31 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 analysts' expectations of $1.02 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 50.89% and a net margin of 9.79%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.37 earnings per share. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.350 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Western Union will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Western Union

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Western Union by 35.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,407,960 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $96,898,000 after buying an additional 2,716,385 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Western Union by 52.6% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 520,779 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,547,000 after purchasing an additional 179,423 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position 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 in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Western Union by 221.6% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 520,789 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,851,000 after acquiring an additional 358,877 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new position in Western Union during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,234,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company's stock.

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.

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