Western Union (NYSE:WU) Given New $15.00 Price Target at Evercore ISI

Western Union (NYSE:WU) had its target price upped by Evercore ISI from $14.00 to $15.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an in-line rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an underperform rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. William Blair reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Monness Crespi & Hardt began coverage on shares of Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a neutral rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $13.45.

Western Union Price Performance

Western Union stock opened at $13.47 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $13.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.61. Western Union has a 1 year low of $10.37 and a 1 year high of $14.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.97, a P/E/G ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.38, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.05. Western Union had a net margin of 14.12% and a return on equity of 120.76%. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Western Union will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.98%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.62%.

Insider Activity at Western Union

In related news, Director Timothy P. Murphy acquired 10,000 shares of Western Union stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $12.85 per share, for a total transaction of $128,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 56,205 shares in the company, valued at $722,234.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Western Union

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Western Union by 2.3% in the third quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 17,854,661 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $235,324,000 after purchasing an additional 408,661 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Western Union by 10.5% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,498,861 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $151,555,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088,247 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Western Union by 17.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,882,154 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $130,247,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439,595 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in Western Union by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 8,087,155 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $96,399,000 after purchasing an additional 160,735 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in Western Union by 27.9% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 7,460,960 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $88,935,000 after purchasing an additional 1,627,822 shares in the last quarter. 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.