The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Receives Consensus Rating of "Strong Sell" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Western Union received a consensus “Strong Sell” rating from 13 analysts, with seven recommending sell and six hold. The average 12-month price target is $7.55, below the reported $7.09 share price only modestly.
• The company missed quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.31 per share versus the $0.42 consensus estimate, while revenue declined 1.3% year over year to $1.01 billion.
• Western Union announced a quarterly dividend of $0.235 per share, or $0.94 annualized, implying a 13.2% yield; institutional investors own 91.81% of the stock.

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Strong Sell" from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and six have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $7.5455.

WU has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Western Union from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Western Union from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wolfe Research reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $8.00 price target on shares of Western Union in a report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Western Union from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WU. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Western Union by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,471,400 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $320,929,000 after buying an additional 1,171,810 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Western Union in the 2nd quarter worth about $241,806,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Western Union by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,984,472 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $130,195,000 after acquiring an additional 580,264 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Western Union by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,081,062 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $121,785,000 after acquiring an additional 624,397 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,746,779 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $99,891,000 after acquiring an additional 962,341 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Union Trading Down 0.9%

Western Union stock opened at $7.09 on Friday. Western Union has a 12 month low of $6.27 and a 12 month high of $10.35. The company has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.47. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $7.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 50.89%. Western Union's revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.37 earnings per share. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.350 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Western Union will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 16th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.2%. Western Union's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.42%.

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.

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.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source