Western Union (NYSE:WU) Price Target Lowered to $10.00 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods has reduced its target price for Western Union stock from $11.00 to $10.00, maintaining a "market perform" rating, which suggests a potential upside of 19.7% from the current price.
• Several brokerages, including Susquehanna and UBS Group, also lowered their target prices, with consensus ratings showing four "sell" ratings and eight "hold" ratings on the stock, indicating cautious sentiment.
• Western Union reported earnings of $0.42 per share, missing expectations, and saw a 3.8% year-over-year decline in quarterly revenue, reflecting ongoing financial challenges.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a "market perform" rating on the credit services provider's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price objective suggests a potential upside of 26.26% from the stock's previous close.

WU has been the subject of several other reports. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Western Union in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut their price objective on shares of Western Union from $7.50 to $7.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "hold" rating and a $9.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group set a $8.50 target price on shares of Western Union and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Union currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $8.61.

Western Union Stock Down 1.6%

NYSE WU traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $7.92. 9,651,865 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,260,880. The business's 50-day moving average is $8.71 and its 200-day moving average is $9.75. Western Union has a twelve month low of $7.90 and a twelve month high of $12.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.65.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 66.11% and a net margin of 21.83%. Western Union's quarterly revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Union will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Union

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 1,487.6% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 3,080 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 2,886 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 80.2% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,264 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 464.3% in the first quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 3,397 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 2,795 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 662.7% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,722 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 3,234 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 188.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,803 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 2,483 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.