Citigroup Cuts Western Union (NYSE:WU) Price Target to $8.50

Key Points

• Citigroup lowered its price target on Western Union from $9.50 to $8.50 while keeping a neutral rating, implying limited downside from the prior close.
• Other analysts remain cautious: JPMorgan cut its target to $8.00 with an underweight rating, and Barclays initiated coverage at $7.00; the overall consensus rating is Reduce with a $8.45 target.
• Western Union shares rose 5.1% to $8.77, but the company recently posted weak quarterly results, missing EPS and revenue estimates in its latest earnings report.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by research analysts at Citigroup from $9.50 to $8.50 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the credit services provider's stock. Citigroup's target price would indicate a potential downside of 3.02% from the company's previous close.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. 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 research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings cut Western Union from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on Western Union in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $7.00 price target for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Union has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $8.45.

Western Union Trading Up 5.1%

Shares of WU traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $8.77. The company had a trading volume of 7,477,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,510,549. Western Union has a 1-year low of $6.91 and a 1-year high of $10.35. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $7.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.84. The stock has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a PE ratio of 6.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.88.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $963.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.06 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 10.88% and a return on equity of 55.94%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.750-1.850 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Western Union will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Western Union

In other news, insider Giovanni Angelini sold 6,000 shares of Western Union stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.47, for a total transaction of $56,820.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 311,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,947,935.24. This trade represents a 1.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Benjamin Carlton Adams sold 19,924 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.23, for a total value of $183,898.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 234,689 shares in the company, valued at $2,166,179.47. This represents a 7.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 3.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Union

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 11,759.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,954,045 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $74,052,000 after buying an additional 7,886,978 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Western Union by 401.4% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,604,026 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $70,793,000 after buying an additional 6,087,613 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its stake in Western Union by 821.1% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 4,170,343 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $35,114,000 after buying an additional 3,717,589 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 3,370.2% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,740,849 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $34,827,000 after buying an additional 3,633,049 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 128.4% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,900,542 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $39,155,000 after buying an additional 2,754,827 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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