Western Union (NYSE:WU) Price Target Lowered to $9.00 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Western Union (NYSE:WU) had its price objective trimmed by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $10.00 to $9.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt reduced their target price on shares of Western Union from $7.50 to $7.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Western Union from $10.50 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Western Union from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $10.00 price objective on shares of Western Union in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays set a $8.00 price objective on shares of Western Union and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $8.50.

Western Union Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of WU stock opened at $8.11 on Wednesday. Western Union has a 12 month low of $7.85 and a 12 month high of $12.02. The stock has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.06.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.02). Western Union had a net margin of 21.83% and a return on equity of 66.11%. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.44 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Western Union has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.650-1.750 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Western Union will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.6%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.61%.

Insider Transactions at Western Union

In other Western Union news, CEO Devin Mcgranahan acquired 176,470 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $8.49 per share, for a total transaction of $1,498,230.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 913,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,752,431.25. This trade represents a 23.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew Cagwin acquired 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $8.36 per share, with a total value of $146,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 225,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,886,107.96. The trade was a 8.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Union

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Western Union by 80.2% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,264 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 464.3% in the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 3,397 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 2,795 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 188.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,803 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,483 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 667.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,602 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 4,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caldwell Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 2nd quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

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.