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

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the fifteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and ten have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $8.8182.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Western Union from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Western Union from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Western Union from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Western Union to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th.

Western Union Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:WU opened at $9.72 on Tuesday. Western Union has a 52 week low of $7.85 and a 52 week high of $11.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $9.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.99. The firm has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The credit services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.02. Western Union had a return on equity of 62.01% and a net margin of 12.33%.The company had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.40 earnings per share. Western Union’s revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.750-1.850 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Western Union will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.7%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is 61.84%.

Institutional Trading of Western Union

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Western Union by 11,759.8% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,954,045 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $74,052,000 after purchasing an additional 7,886,978 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 401.4% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,604,026 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $70,793,000 after purchasing an additional 6,087,613 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in shares of Western Union by 48.5% in the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 13,240,037 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $111,481,000 after buying an additional 4,321,604 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in Western Union by 821.1% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 4,170,343 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,114,000 after buying an additional 3,717,589 shares during the period. Finally, Discerene Group LP boosted its stake in Western Union by 55.1% during the second quarter. Discerene Group LP now owns 10,366,558 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $87,286,000 after buying an additional 3,684,366 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Western Union

Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments. The company enables individuals and businesses to send and receive money through a variety of channels, including its vast agent network, online platforms, and mobile applications. Core services include person-to-person money transfers, business-to-business cross-border payments, bill payment services and prepaid card programs.

Through its digital offerings, Western Union provides customers with the ability to initiate transfers via its website and mobile app, as well as track transactions in real time.