The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Receives $12.86 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) has received an average rating of “Reduce” from the ten brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $12.86.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 20th.

Western Union Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE WU opened at $11.06 on Wednesday. Western Union has a 1-year low of $10.51 and a 1-year high of $14.19. The company has a 50-day moving average of $11.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.04. The company has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a PE ratio of 5.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 16.07% and a return on equity of 120.39%. Western Union’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Western Union will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Western Union

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Union in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Western Union by 52.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,588 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Union in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of Western Union by 89.3% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,226 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Western Union by 59.9% in the 1st quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,233 shares in 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.