Western Union (NYSE:WU) Price Target Cut to $12.00

Western Union (NYSE:WU) had its price objective dropped by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $14.00 to $12.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underweight” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 2.30% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on WU. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $13.00 price target on shares of Western Union in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Western Union from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.14.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of WU opened at $11.73 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $12.16 and its 200-day moving average is $12.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.98, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.96 billion, a PE ratio of 6.94, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.85. Western Union has a fifty-two week low of $10.92 and a fifty-two week high of $14.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.01). Western Union had a net margin of 13.64% and a return on equity of 123.71%. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Western Union will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WU. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Western Union by 7,569.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,905,891 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $194,405,000 after purchasing an additional 13,724,584 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 17.7% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 9,736,930 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $118,985,000 after buying an additional 1,462,853 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 7,460,960 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $88,935,000 after buying an additional 1,627,822 shares in the last quarter. Discerene Group LP increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 11.9% during the first quarter. Discerene Group LP now owns 6,682,192 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $93,417,000 after buying an additional 710,873 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,543,650 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $54,161,000 after acquiring an additional 721,331 shares during the last quarter. 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.