The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Given Average Rating of "Reduce" by Analysts

Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" from the eleven analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $10.78.

WU has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Western Union in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of Western Union from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $7.50 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th.

Western Union Stock Performance

Western Union stock opened at $9.47 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04. Western Union has a 1 year low of $9.00 and a 1 year high of $13.12. The company has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a PE ratio of 3.47, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.68. The company's 50-day moving average is $9.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.35.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $983.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. Western Union's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Western Union will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Western Union's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.07%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Union

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

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.

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