Western Union (NYSE:WU) Hits New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $8.40 and last traded at $8.46, with a volume of 9935567 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.43.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut Western Union from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $7.50 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $10.50 price objective (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.78.

Western Union Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. The firm has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.15, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.23.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.01. Western Union had a return on equity of 77.19% and a net margin of 22.08%. The business had revenue of $983.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.12%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.07%.

Institutional Trading of Western Union

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 1,487.6% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 3,080 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 2,886 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Western Union by 80.2% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,264 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC raised its stake in Western Union by 464.3% in the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 3,397 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 2,795 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in Western Union by 662.7% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,722 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 3,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Western Union by 188.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,803 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,483 shares during the last quarter. 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.