Western Union (NYSE:WU) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $10.19 and last traded at $10.30, with a volume of 552896 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $10.40.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on WU shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.63.

Western Union Trading Up 0.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $10.71 and its 200-day moving average is $11.42.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.02. Western Union had a return on equity of 120.39% and a net margin of 16.07%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. Western Union’s payout ratio is 48.21%.

Western Union announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, December 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Western Union by 30.7% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 348,850 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,263,000 after purchasing an additional 82,018 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new position in Western Union during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $8,124,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 293.3% during the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 198,002 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,362,000 after buying an additional 147,658 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 20.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,698,559 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $20,264,000 after buying an additional 283,479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in Western Union by 19.0% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 523,676 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,247,000 after buying an additional 83,715 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.