Western Union (NYSE:WU) Downgraded to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Western Union (NYSE:WU) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Friday morning.

WU has been the topic of several other reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Citigroup reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $13.00 price target on shares of Western Union in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $13.43.

Western Union Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of Western Union stock opened at $11.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.98, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a 50-day moving average of $12.47 and a 200 day moving average of $12.91. The firm has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.72, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.85. Western Union has a 1 year low of $10.92 and a 1 year high of $14.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 123.71% and a net margin of 13.64%. The firm’s revenue was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Union will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.62%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Union

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Western Union by 1.1% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 80,813 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $979,000 after buying an additional 896 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Western Union by 1.8% during the second quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 56,066 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $685,000 after buying an additional 979 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Union by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 44,100 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $526,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Union by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 32,277 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $385,000 after buying an additional 1,076 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Western Union by 59.9% during the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 1,233 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.