Western Union (NYSE:WU) Stock Price Down 4.3% on Analyst Downgrade

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) dropped 4.3% during trading on Monday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $9.50 to $8.50. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Western Union traded as low as $8.47 and last traded at $8.4960. Approximately 1,054,353 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 8,584,625 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.88.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Barclays began coverage on Western Union in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $7.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Western Union from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Western Union from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $8.45.

Insider Transactions at Western Union

In other Western Union news, insider Benjamin Carlton Adams sold 19,924 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.23, for a total value of $183,898.52. Following the sale, the insider owned 234,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,166,179.47. This trade represents a 7.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Giovanni Angelini sold 6,000 shares of Western Union stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.47, for a total value of $56,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 311,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,947,935.24. This represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders own 3.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Union

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Accel Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Western Union in the 2nd quarter worth $143,000. Ramsey Quantitative Systems bought a new stake in shares of Western Union in the second quarter valued at about $138,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 27.9% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,931 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 1,729 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in Western Union by 197.3% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 6,516 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 4,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ritter Alpha LP bought a new position in Western Union during the first quarter valued at about $248,000. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Union Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.88. The stock has a market cap of $2.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.40, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.46.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $963.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 55.94% and a net margin of 10.88%.Western Union’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.750-1.850 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. Western Union’s payout ratio is 69.12%.

Western Union Company Profile

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.