The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Receives $13.61 Average Target Price from Analysts

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) has been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and eight have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $13.61.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WU. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Monness Crespi & Hardt began coverage on shares of Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th.

Western Union Price Performance

Western Union stock opened at $13.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.38, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $4.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.62. Western Union has a 1 year low of $10.92 and a 1 year high of $14.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.05. Western Union had a return on equity of 120.76% and a net margin of 14.12%. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Western Union will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Western Union

In other Western Union news, Director Timothy P. Murphy purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $12.85 per share, for a total transaction of $128,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $722,234.25. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Western Union

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Western Union during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,925,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in shares of Western Union by 27.9% in the 4th 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 during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Western Union by 17.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,882,154 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $130,247,000 after acquiring an additional 1,439,595 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Western Union by 10.5% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,498,861 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $151,555,000 after acquiring an additional 1,088,247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec purchased a new position in shares of Western Union in the 3rd quarter worth about $13,180,000. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Union Company Profile

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.