Western Union (NYSE:WU) Upgraded at Weiss Ratings

Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Western Union (NYSE:WU) from a sell (d+) rating to a hold (c-) rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on WU. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $9.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Barclays set a $8.00 target price on shares of Western Union and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Western Union from $10.50 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Western Union to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $8.50.

Western Union Stock Performance

Western Union stock opened at $7.94 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.01, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.61. Western Union has a fifty-two week low of $7.85 and a fifty-two week high of $12.02.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 21.83% and a return on equity of 66.11%. The business’s revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.44 earnings per share. Western Union has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.650-1.750 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Western Union will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th were issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. Western Union’s payout ratio is presently 35.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Matthew Cagwin acquired 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.36 per share, for a total transaction of $146,300.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 225,611 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,886,107.96. The trade was a 8.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Devin Mcgranahan bought 176,470 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.49 per share, with a total value of $1,498,230.30. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 913,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,752,431.25. The trade was a 23.96% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Union

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Western Union by 80.2% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,264 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 1,453 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC raised its stake in Western Union by 464.3% during the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 3,397 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 2,795 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Western Union by 667.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,602 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 4,002 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Western Union by 188.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,803 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 2,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caldwell Trust Co purchased a new stake in Western Union during the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.