Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Western Union (NYSE:WU) Stock Price

Western Union (NYSE:WU) had its price objective lowered by Barclays from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “underweight” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price target points to a potential downside of 6.63% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on WU. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Western Union from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.63.

Western Union Price Performance

Western Union stock traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $10.71. 665,389 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,088,271. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $11.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.81. Western Union has a 52-week low of $10.51 and a 52-week high of $14.19. The company has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.49, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Union

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Western Union by 52.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,588 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 1.1% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 80,813 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $979,000 after acquiring an additional 896 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 1.8% in the second quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 56,066 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $685,000 after purchasing an additional 979 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Western Union by 31.1% in the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,316 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in Western Union by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 27,050 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 1,091 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.