The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Strong Sell” from Analysts

Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WUGet Free Report) have received an average recommendation of “Strong Sell” from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and six have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $7.5455.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Western Union from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Western Union from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on Western Union from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. New Street Research restated a “reduce” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Western Union from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th.

Get Our Latest Report on Western Union

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Union

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 43.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,838,382 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $33,509,000 after acquiring an additional 1,163,577 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Western Union by 52.6% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 520,779 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,547,000 after acquiring an additional 179,423 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Western Union in the 2nd quarter worth about $241,806,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Western Union during the 2nd quarter worth $11,248,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 28.5% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,922,728 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $16,785,000 after buying an additional 426,939 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WU opened at $7.05 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.37. Western Union has a 52 week low of $6.27 and a 52 week high of $10.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 0.50.

Western Union (NYSE:WUGet Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.11). Western Union had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 50.89%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.37 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.350 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Western Union will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 16th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.3%. Western Union’s payout ratio is 76.42%.

About Western Union

(Get Free Report)

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.

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Analyst Recommendations for Western Union (NYSE:WU)

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