Monness Crespi & Hardt Upgrades Western Union (NYSE:WU) to Neutral

Western Union (NYSE:WU) was upgraded by equities researchers at Monness Crespi & Hardt from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Briefing.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. New Street Research reaffirmed a “reduce” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $8.00 target price on shares of Western Union in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Western Union from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Western Union from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $7.36.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of WU opened at $6.09 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $6.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. Western Union has a 12 month low of $5.87 and a 12 month high of $10.35.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 50.89% and a net margin of 9.79%. Western Union’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.37 earnings per share. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.350 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Western Union will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WU. Wedmont Private Capital bought a new stake in shares of Western Union during the third quarter valued at about $73,000. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC acquired a new stake in Western Union in the third quarter worth about $59,000. Miramontes Capital LLC grew its position in Western Union by 99.8% in the 2nd quarter. Miramontes Capital LLC now owns 95,436 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $735,000 after buying an additional 47,667 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its position in Western Union by 467.6% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 1,699,841 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $13,089,000 after buying an additional 1,400,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new position in Western Union in the 2nd quarter valued at about $51,000. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Union Company Profile

Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a global provider of money movement and payment services. The company enables consumers and businesses to send and receive money through digital platforms, retail locations and account-based services. Its offerings include domestic and international money transfers, bill payments, money orders and related payment solutions.

Western Union serves customers across a broad international network spanning more than 200 countries and territories. Consumers can access its services through the Western Union website and mobile application, as well as through a network of agent locations and other retail partners.