Western Union (NYSE:WU) Trading Down 5% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Western Union shares fell 5% to about $6.51, with trading volume significantly below its average. The stock remains below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment is strongly negative: six analysts rate the stock Hold and eight rate it Sell, producing a consensus “Strong Sell” rating and a $7.55 target price.
• Recent quarterly results missed expectations, with EPS of $0.31 versus the $0.42 consensus and revenue down 1.3% year over year. The company nevertheless declared a quarterly dividend of $0.235, implying a high 14.4% annualized yield.

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) was down 5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $6.56 and last traded at $6.5070. Approximately 560,142 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 94% from the average daily volume of 8,965,572 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.85.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WU shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on shares of Western Union from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Western Union from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Zacks Research cut Western Union from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $8.00 price objective on shares of Western Union in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, New Street Research reissued a "reduce" rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and eight have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Strong Sell" and a consensus target price of $7.55.

Western Union Trading Down 4.9%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $7.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.50.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for 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%.Western Union's revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.37 EPS. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.350 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.29 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 16th. Western Union's dividend payout ratio is presently 76.42%.

Institutional Trading of Western Union

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Western Union in the second quarter worth about $241,806,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Western Union by 35.3% during 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 last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its position in Western Union by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 9,733,727 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $90,621,000 after buying an additional 124,650 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Western Union by 15.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,902,175 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $68,989,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039,604 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 24.5% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 7,879,726 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $73,360,000 after acquiring an additional 1,550,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company's stock.

About Western Union

Western Union Company NYSE: WU is a global provider of money movement and payment services. The company enables consumers and businesses to send and receive money across borders and within individual markets through digital platforms, mobile applications and a network of retail agent locations.

Its services include consumer money transfers, international remittances, bill payments and money orders. Customers can typically initiate transfers online, through the Western Union app or at participating retail locations, with recipients able to collect funds in cash or receive them through eligible bank accounts, digital wallets or other payment methods, depending on the destination market.

Western Union traces its origins to 1851, when it was established as a telegraph company in the United States.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.