UBS Group Has Lowered Expectations for Western Union (NYSE:WU) Stock Price

Key Points

• UBS Group has reduced its price target for Western Union from $10.50 to $8.50, maintaining a "neutral" rating, which still indicates a potential upside of 1.86% from its previous close.
• Recent reports show that several brokerages have lowered their price targets and given Western Union a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average price target of $9.72.
• Western Union's stock price has decreased by 1.1% to $8.35, with significant trading activity as over 5 million shares exchanged hands on the reporting day.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by UBS Group from $10.50 to $8.50 in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the credit services provider's stock. UBS Group's target price would indicate a potential upside of 4.94% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer started coverage on Western Union in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their price objective on Western Union from $7.50 to $7.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four equities research 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 an average price target of $8.83.

Western Union Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:WU opened at $8.10 on Tuesday. Western Union has a twelve month low of $7.99 and a twelve month 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. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $8.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.77. The company has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.65.

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 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.44 EPS. The company's revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Western Union will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Union

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WU. Ethic Inc. bought a new position in Western Union during the 2nd quarter worth $360,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in Western Union during the 2nd quarter worth $1,987,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in Western Union by 14.9% during the 2nd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 4,189,459 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $35,275,000 after buying an additional 544,232 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Western Union by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 396,780 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,341,000 after purchasing an additional 31,687 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union during the 2nd quarter worth $100,000. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company's stock.

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.