Citigroup Upgrades Western Union (NYSE:WU) to “Hold”

Western Union (NYSE:WU) was upgraded by research analysts at Citigroup to a “hold” rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on WU. Susquehanna cut their target price on Western Union from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $10.00 target price on Western Union in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut their target price on Western Union from $7.50 to $7.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. UBS Group cut their target price on Western Union from $10.50 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $8.55.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WU opened at $8.16 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. Western Union has a 1 year low of $7.85 and a 1 year high of $11.94. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.80. The firm has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.61.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.04. Western Union had a return on equity of 66.11% and a net margin of 21.83%.The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. Western Union’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Union has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.650-1.750 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Western Union will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Western Union

In other Western Union news, CFO Matthew Cagwin acquired 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.36 per share, for a total transaction of $146,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 225,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,886,107.96. This trade represents a 8.41% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Devin Mcgranahan acquired 176,470 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $8.49 per share, for a total transaction of $1,498,230.30. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 913,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,752,431.25. This trade represents a 23.96% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Union

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WU. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in Western Union by 48.5% during the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 13,240,037 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $111,481,000 after buying an additional 4,321,604 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in Western Union by 821.1% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 4,170,343 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $35,114,000 after buying an additional 3,717,589 shares in the last quarter. Discerene Group LP grew its position in Western Union by 55.1% during the second quarter. Discerene Group LP now owns 10,366,558 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $87,286,000 after buying an additional 3,684,366 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Western Union by 16.4% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,041,493 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $136,675,000 after buying an additional 1,835,062 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Western Union by 180.3% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,798,728 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $23,564,000 after buying an additional 1,800,319 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.