Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Has Lowered Expectations for Western Union (NYSE:WU) Stock Price

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

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut Western Union from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $7.50 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $10.50 price objective (down from $11.00) on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $14.00 price objective on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.78.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of WU opened at $10.14 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $10.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.67. The company has a market capitalization 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. Western Union has a fifty-two week low of $9.00 and a fifty-two week high of $13.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.20.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Research analysts predict that Western Union will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Western Union

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Western Union by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,698,559 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $20,264,000 after buying an additional 283,479 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Western Union by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 68,237 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $723,000 after acquiring an additional 6,727 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 50.6% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 122,956 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,303,000 after acquiring an additional 41,317 shares in the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Western Union by 828.1% in the fourth quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 93,959 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $996,000 after purchasing an additional 83,835 shares during the period. Finally, Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Western Union during the 4th quarter worth $922,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

About Western Union

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.