Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Has Lowered Expectations for Western Union (NYSE:WU) Stock Price

Western Union (NYSE:WU) had its price target dropped by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a “market perform” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target suggests a potential upside of 25.87% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on WU. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Western Union from $10.50 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Monness Crespi & Hardt decreased their price objective on Western Union from $7.50 to $7.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Susquehanna cut their target price on Western Union from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Western Union in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $9.00 target price for the company. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.61.

Western Union Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of Western Union stock traded down $0.11 on Tuesday, reaching $7.95. 5,224,527 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,228,233. The company has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.65. Western Union has a 52 week low of $7.94 and a 52 week high of $12.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $8.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.02). Western Union had a return on equity of 66.11% and a net margin of 21.83%. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.44 earnings per share. Western Union’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Western Union will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Union

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WU. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 22,298 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 982 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 0.5% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 239,236 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,530,000 after purchasing an additional 1,085 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 0.7% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 186,822 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,947,000 after purchasing an additional 1,249 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 0.3% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 405,839 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,294,000 after purchasing an additional 1,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 2.3% during the first quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 62,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $665,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.