The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Given Average Recommendation of “Reduce” by Analysts

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and ten have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $8.70.

WU has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Western Union from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Western Union from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group upped their target price on Western Union from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on 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, Citigroup upgraded Western Union to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Giovanni Angelini purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $8.95 per share, with a total value of $89,500.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 186,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,673,041.40. This represents a 5.65% 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 link. 1.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Western Union by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 135,968 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,439,000 after purchasing an additional 8,330 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Western Union during the first quarter valued at about $155,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 10.0% during the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 82,923 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $877,000 after buying an additional 7,557 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 43.3% during the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 122,542 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,296,000 after buying an additional 37,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 9.0% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 186,654 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,975,000 after buying an additional 15,449 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Union Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of Western Union stock opened at $8.76 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $8.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80. Western Union has a 12-month low of $7.85 and a 12-month high of $11.94. The company has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.83, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.61.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.04. Western Union had a net margin of 18.80% and a return on equity of 60.85%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. Western Union’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Western Union has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.650-1.750 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Western Union will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.