Western Union (NYSE:WU) Lifted to Hold at StockNews.com

Western Union (NYSE:WU) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $13.00 price objective on shares of Western Union in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Western Union from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Western Union has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.43.

Western Union Stock Performance

NYSE WU traded up $0.16 on Tuesday, hitting $11.66. 5,445,596 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,086,244. The company has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.98. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $12.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.88. Western Union has a 52-week low of $10.92 and a 52-week high of $14.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.44 EPS 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 business had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. Western Union’s revenue was down 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Western Union will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Western Union

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 751.7% in the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 722,532 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $8,829,000 after purchasing an additional 637,702 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Western Union during the second quarter worth $183,000. Optimist Retirement Group LLC purchased a new stake in Western Union during the second quarter worth $250,000. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in Western Union during the second quarter worth $2,288,000. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Western Union during the second quarter worth $143,000. Hedge funds and other 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.