Analysts Set The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) PT at $8.61

Key Points

• Western Union has received an average recommendation of "Reduce" from twelve brokerages, with five analysts issuing sell ratings and seven granting hold ratings.
• The company's stock recently has a target price of $8.6111 and was reported at $8.4850 per share.
• CFO Matthew Cagwin purchased 17,500 shares at an average cost of $8.36, increasing his ownership by 8.41%, with insiders owning 1.58% of the stock.

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Reduce" from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and seven have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $8.6111.

Several research firms have issued reports on WU. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Monness Crespi & Hardt decreased their price target on shares of Western Union from $7.50 to $7.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Western Union from $10.50 to $8.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Western Union in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock.

Western Union Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Western Union stock traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $8.56. 6,991,801 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,546,460. Western Union has a twelve month low of $7.89 and a twelve month high of $12.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.02). Western Union had a return on equity of 66.11% and a net margin of 21.83%.The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.44 earnings per share. Western Union's revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Western Union has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.650-1.750 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Western Union will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Western Union

In related news, CEO Devin Mcgranahan bought 176,470 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.49 per share, with a total value of $1,498,230.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 913,125 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,752,431.25. The trade was a 23.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew Cagwin bought 17,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.36 per share, for a total transaction of $146,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 225,611 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,886,107.96. The trade was a 8.41% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Union

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WU. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 28,983,265 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $307,224,000 after acquiring an additional 4,426,126 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in Western Union by 48.5% during the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 13,240,037 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $111,481,000 after buying an additional 4,321,604 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its position 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 valued at $35,114,000 after buying an additional 3,717,589 shares in the last quarter. Discerene Group LP lifted its position in Western Union by 55.1% during the second quarter. Discerene Group LP now owns 10,366,558 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $87,286,000 after buying an additional 3,684,366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Western Union by 39.0% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,206,431 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $118,788,000 after buying an additional 3,146,395 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.