Western Union (NYSE:WU) Sets New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $7.24 and last traded at $7.2750, with a volume of 1944758 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $7.35.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings cut Western Union from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $8.82.

Western Union Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a PE ratio of 5.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a 50-day moving average of $8.64 and a 200 day moving average of $9.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.88.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.15). Western Union had a net margin of 10.88% and a return on equity of 55.94%. The company had revenue of $963.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.750-1.850 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.8%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Union

In other news, insider Benjamin Carlton Adams sold 19,924 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.23, for a total transaction of $183,898.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 234,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,166,179.47. This trade represents a 7.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Giovanni Angelini sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.47, for a total value of $56,820.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 311,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,947,935.24. This represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Company insiders own 3.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Union

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Western Union by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,471,400 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $320,929,000 after purchasing an additional 1,171,810 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in Western Union by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 16,948,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $135,417,000 after acquiring an additional 3,708,291 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Western Union by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,984,472 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $130,195,000 after acquiring an additional 580,264 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Western Union by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,081,062 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $121,785,000 after acquiring an additional 624,397 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Western Union by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,746,779 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $99,891,000 after acquiring an additional 962,341 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Western Union

Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments. The company enables individuals and businesses to send and receive money through a variety of channels, including its vast agent network, online platforms, and mobile applications. Core services include person-to-person money transfers, business-to-business cross-border payments, bill payment services and prepaid card programs.

Through its digital offerings, Western Union provides customers with the ability to initiate transfers via its website and mobile app, as well as track transactions in real time.