Western Union (NYSE:WU) Hits New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU – Get Free Report)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $5.93 and last traded at $5.9750, with a volume of 7869135 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $6.12.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on WU. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Western Union from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research lowered Western Union from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered their target price on Western Union from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Western Union from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, New Street Research restated a “reduce” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and eight have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Union presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus price target of $7.36.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on Western Union

Western Union Stock Up 2.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.90.

Western Union (NYSE:WU – Get 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.11). Western Union had a return on equity of 50.89% and a net margin of 9.79%.The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.37 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.350 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.2350 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 15.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 16th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.42%.

Institutional Trading of Western Union

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Western Union during the second quarter worth about $241,806,000. Algebris UK Ltd. bought a new position in Western Union in the 2nd quarter valued at about $21,224,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position 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 valued at $96,898,000 after buying an additional 2,716,385 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Western Union in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $20,312,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Western Union during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $17,743,000. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Western Union Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a global provider of money movement and payment services. The company enables consumers and businesses to send and receive money through digital platforms, retail locations and account-based services. Its offerings include domestic and international money transfers, bill payments, money orders and related payment solutions.

Western Union serves customers across a broad international network spanning more than 200 countries and territories. Consumers can access its services through the Western Union website and mobile application, as well as through a network of agent locations and other retail partners.

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