Western Union (NYSE:WU) Given New $11.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Western Union (NYSE:WU) had its price target lowered by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $12.00 to $11.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market perform” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target suggests a potential upside of 8.48% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on WU. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of Western Union from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $7.50 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $10.50 target price (down from $11.00) on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $14.00 price objective on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.78.

Western Union Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:WU opened at $10.14 on Thursday. Western Union has a 1 year low of $9.00 and a 1 year high of $13.65. The stock has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.20. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.67.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.01. Western Union had a return on equity of 96.90% and a net margin of 22.19%. The firm had revenue of $983.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Western Union will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Union

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 28.8% during the first quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 61,770 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $654,000 after acquiring an additional 13,801 shares during the last quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union during the 1st quarter worth about $14,548,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Western Union by 12.6% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 275,280 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,885,000 after buying an additional 30,801 shares in the last quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Western Union in the first quarter valued at approximately $168,000. Finally, Diversified Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Western Union during the first quarter valued at approximately $572,000. 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.