Western Union (NYSE:WU) Sets New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $10.75 and last traded at $10.80, with a volume of 4401054 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $11.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WU shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Western Union from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.86.

Western Union Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.52, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50 day moving average of $11.80 and a 200 day moving average of $12.31.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.02. The company 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 firm’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Western Union

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WU. Marshall Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Western Union by 11.6% in the first quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 64,881 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $907,000 after acquiring an additional 6,735 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Western Union by 25.7% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 317,656 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,441,000 after acquiring an additional 64,967 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Western Union by 13.0% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 38,083 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $532,000 after purchasing an additional 4,379 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Western Union by 5.5% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,252,897 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,516,000 after buying an additional 65,087 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 11.7% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,071,228 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $14,976,000 after purchasing an additional 112,066 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

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.