Citigroup Begins Coverage on Western Union (NYSE:WU)

Research analysts at Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Western Union (NYSE:WU) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm set a “neutral” rating and a $9.00 price target on the credit services provider’s stock. Citigroup’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 10.28% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. UBS Group lowered their target price on Western Union from $10.50 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Western Union from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their target price on Western Union from $7.50 to $7.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target 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. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Western Union from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $8.55.

Western Union Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:WU opened at $8.16 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $8.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. Western Union has a 1-year low of $7.85 and a 1-year high of $11.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.61.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 21.83% and a return on equity of 66.11%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. Western Union has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.650-1.750 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Western Union will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Western Union

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Union

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in shares of Western Union by 48.5% during the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 13,240,037 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $111,481,000 after purchasing an additional 4,321,604 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its holdings in Western Union by 821.1% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 4,170,343 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $35,114,000 after acquiring an additional 3,717,589 shares during the period. Discerene Group LP grew its holdings in Western Union by 55.1% during the second quarter. Discerene Group LP now owns 10,366,558 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $87,286,000 after acquiring an additional 3,684,366 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Western Union by 16.4% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,041,493 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $136,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,835,062 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Western Union by 180.3% in the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,798,728 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $23,564,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800,319 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Western Union

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.