Western Union (NYSE:WU) Shares Down 4.3% After Analyst Downgrade

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)’s stock price was down 4.3% during trading on Monday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $9.50 to $8.50. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Western Union traded as low as $8.47 and last traded at $8.4960. 1,054,353 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 8,584,625 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.88.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Barclays began coverage on Western Union in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $7.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Western Union from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Western Union from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $8.45.

Insider Transactions at Western Union

In other Western Union news, insider Giovanni Angelini sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.47, for a total transaction of $56,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 311,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,947,935.24. This represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Benjamin Carlton Adams sold 19,924 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.23, for a total transaction of $183,898.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 234,689 shares in the company, valued at $2,166,179.47. This represents a 7.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 3.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WU. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 11,759.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,954,045 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $74,052,000 after buying an additional 7,886,978 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 35.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,407,960 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $96,898,000 after acquiring an additional 2,716,385 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Western Union by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,471,400 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $320,929,000 after purchasing an additional 1,171,810 shares during the last quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,234,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Western Union by 72.0% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 344,452 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,207,000 after acquiring an additional 144,193 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Union Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $7.88 and its 200-day moving average is $8.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a PE ratio of 6.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.88.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.15). Western Union had a return on equity of 55.94% and a net margin of 10.88%.The company had revenue of $963.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.750-1.850 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.9%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.12%.

About Western Union

Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments. The company enables individuals and businesses to send and receive money through a variety of channels, including its vast agent network, online platforms, and mobile applications. Core services include person-to-person money transfers, business-to-business cross-border payments, bill payment services and prepaid card programs.

Through its digital offerings, Western Union provides customers with the ability to initiate transfers via its website and mobile app, as well as track transactions in real time.