The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $7.45 According to Analysts

Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) have received an average recommendation of “Strong Sell” from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and six have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $7.36.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WU shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Western Union from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 13th. New Street Research reiterated a “reduce” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $8.00 target price on shares of Western Union in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price target on Western Union from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Union

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Western Union by 43.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,838,382 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $33,509,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163,577 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Western Union in the 2nd quarter worth $241,806,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Western Union by 52.6% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 520,779 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,547,000 after buying an additional 179,423 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Western Union in the 2nd quarter valued at about $11,248,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 35.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,407,960 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $96,898,000 after acquiring an additional 2,716,385 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Price Performance

WU stock opened at $6.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95. Western Union has a 52-week low of $5.87 and a 52-week high of $10.35. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.89.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its 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). Western Union had a return on equity of 50.89% and a net margin of 9.79%.The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.37 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.350 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Western Union will post 1.29 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 16th were issued a $0.2350 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 15.7%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.42%.

Western Union Company Profile

Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a global provider of money movement and payment services. The company enables consumers and businesses to send and receive money through digital platforms, retail locations and account-based services. Its offerings include domestic and international money transfers, bill payments, money orders and related payment solutions.

Western Union serves customers across a broad international network spanning more than 200 countries and territories. Consumers can access its services through the Western Union website and mobile application, as well as through a network of agent locations and other retail partners.