Western Union (NYSE:WU) Sets New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $10.69 and last traded at $10.72, with a volume of 2762128 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group cut their price target on Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Western Union from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Western Union in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.86.

Western Union Trading Down 0.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The stock has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a PE ratio of 5.49, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.21.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.02. Western Union had a return on equity of 120.39% and a net margin of 16.07%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Union

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WU. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in Western Union by 30.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 348,850 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,263,000 after purchasing an additional 82,018 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 11.9% during the third quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 704,054 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $8,399,000 after purchasing an additional 74,742 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 7,569.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,905,891 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $194,405,000 after buying an additional 13,724,584 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new position in Western Union during the 1st quarter valued at about $12,051,000. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in Western Union in the second quarter worth approximately $2,288,000. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.