Western Union (NYSE:WU) Raised to Hold (C-) at Weiss Ratings

Western Union (NYSE:WU) was upgraded by stock analysts at Weiss Ratings from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on WU. Barclays set a $8.00 price objective on shares of Western Union and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $9.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Western Union from $10.50 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $9.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $8.50.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of Western Union stock opened at $8.08 on Wednesday. Western Union has a one year low of $7.85 and a one year high of $12.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a PE ratio of 3.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.95.

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

Insider Activity at Western Union

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Union

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WU. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Western Union by 2,948.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 40,236 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $426,000 after acquiring an additional 38,916 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Western Union by 80.2% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,264 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Western Union by 84.4% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 32,534 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 14,890 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Western Union in the 1st quarter valued at $665,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Western Union in the 1st quarter valued at $1,018,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.