The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 38,650,000 shares, agrowthof1,955.9% from the June 30th total of 1,880,000 shares. Approximately11.8% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 7,940,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.9 days. Based on an average daily volume of 7,940,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.9 days. Approximately11.8% of the company's shares are short sold.
Western Union Stock Down 1.3%
Shares of Western Union stock traded down $0.11 on Friday, reaching $7.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,630,253 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,238,315. The company has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.65. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $8.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.75. Western Union has a 52 week low of $7.92 and a 52 week high of $12.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current 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 analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.44 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.8% 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.8%. Western Union's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.61%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
WU has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays set a $8.00 price target on shares of Western Union and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Western Union from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Western Union from $10.50 to $8.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Western Union in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "hold" rating and a $9.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Union presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $8.61.
Read Our Latest Report on WU
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Western Union by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 28,983,265 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $307,224,000 after purchasing an additional 4,426,126 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Western Union by 202.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,661,732 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $60,014,000 after purchasing an additional 3,792,683 shares in the last quarter. 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 purchasing an additional 3,146,395 shares in the last quarter. Brickwood Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Western Union in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,177,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Western Union in the fourth quarter worth about $22,984,000. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company's stock.
About Western Union
(
Get Free Report)
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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