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

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) has been given an average recommendation of “Strong Sell” by the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and six have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $7.36.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $8.00 price objective on shares of Western Union in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Western Union from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Western Union from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. New Street Research reissued a “reduce” rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt decreased their price target on shares of Western Union from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 25th.

Western Union Stock Performance

WU opened at $5.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The company has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a PE ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $7.09 and a 200-day moving average of $7.96. Western Union has a 52-week low of $5.93 and a 52-week high of $10.35.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 50.89%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.37 earnings per share. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.350 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Western Union will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.2350 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 15.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 16th. Western Union’s payout ratio is currently 76.42%.

Institutional Trading of Western Union

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WU. Miramontes Capital LLC increased its position in Western Union by 99.8% in the 2nd quarter. Miramontes Capital LLC now owns 95,436 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $735,000 after buying an additional 47,667 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 467.6% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 1,699,841 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $13,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400,369 shares during the period. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union in the second quarter worth $51,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union in the second quarter worth $977,000. Finally, AlphaGrep UK Ltd bought a new position in Western Union during the second quarter worth $104,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

About Western Union

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 across borders and within individual markets through digital platforms, mobile applications and a network of retail agent locations.

Its services include consumer money transfers, international remittances, bill payments and money orders. Customers can typically initiate transfers online, through the Western Union app or at participating retail locations, with recipients able to collect funds in cash or receive them through eligible bank accounts, digital wallets or other payment methods, depending on the destination market.

Western Union traces its origins to 1851, when it was established as a telegraph company in the United States.