Citigroup Cuts Western Union (NYSE:WU) Price Target to $8.50

Western Union (NYSE:WU) had its price objective cut by Citigroup from $9.50 to $8.50 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the credit services provider’s stock.

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

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of WU stock opened at $8.88 on Friday. Western Union has a 12-month low of $6.91 and a 12-month high of $10.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.88, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.83.

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

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.6%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Union

In other news, insider Giovanni Angelini sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.47, for a total value of $56,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 311,292 shares in the company, valued at $2,947,935.24. This represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 value of $183,898.52. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 234,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,166,179.47. This represents a 7.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Union

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

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.