Western Union (NYSE:WU) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $10.39 and last traded at $10.39, with a volume of 2625796 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.60.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WU has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.63.

Western Union Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $10.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.38, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.85.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 16.07% and a return on equity of 120.39%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.96%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.21%.

Western Union announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, December 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Western Union

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in Western Union by 17.7% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 9,736,930 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $118,985,000 after purchasing an additional 1,462,853 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Western Union by 62.8% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,730,450 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $45,586,000 after acquiring an additional 1,439,310 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Western Union by 52.0% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,337,466 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,784,000 after acquiring an additional 1,142,400 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Union in the third quarter valued at approximately $11,726,000. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new position in Western Union during the 3rd quarter worth $8,124,000. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.