Western Union (NYSE:WU) PT Raised to $14.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) had its price objective raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $13.00 to $14.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underweight” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 3.97% from the stock’s current price.

WU has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wolfe Research reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, January 4th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Monness Crespi & Hardt assumed coverage on Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Evercore ISI raised 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. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Western Union from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.45.

Western Union Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:WU opened at $13.47 on Thursday. Western Union has a 1 year low of $10.37 and a 1 year high of $14.19. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $13.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a PE ratio of 7.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 111.53% and a net margin of 14.12%. Western Union’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. Analysts predict that Western Union will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Union news, Director Timothy P. Murphy purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $12.85 per share, for a total transaction of $128,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 56,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $722,234.25. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Western Union by 134.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,956 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Western Union during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Union in the first quarter worth about $30,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 92.2% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,366 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 1,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Western Union by 500.5% during the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,312 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,927 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.