UBS Group Cuts Western Union (NYSE:WU) Price Target to $12.00

Western Union (NYSE:WU) had its target price reduced by investment analysts at UBS Group from $13.50 to $12.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the credit services provider’s stock. UBS Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 8.11% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $13.00 price target on shares of Western Union in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Union currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.86.

Western Union Trading Down 3.9 %

NYSE WU traded down $0.45 on Thursday, hitting $11.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,467,027 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,043,114. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.98. Western Union has a 1-year low of $10.92 and a 1-year high of $14.19. The company’s 50-day moving average is $11.87 and its 200 day moving average is $12.39. The firm has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a PE ratio of 6.80, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.86.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.02. Western Union had a net margin of 13.64% and a return on equity of 123.71%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Western Union will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Union

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 7,569.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,905,891 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $194,405,000 after acquiring an additional 13,724,584 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its position in Western Union by 17.7% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 9,736,930 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $118,985,000 after purchasing an additional 1,462,853 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Western Union by 62.8% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,730,450 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $45,586,000 after acquiring an additional 1,439,310 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Western Union by 52.0% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,337,466 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,784,000 after acquiring an additional 1,142,400 shares during the period. Finally, M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of Western Union in the first quarter worth approximately $12,051,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Company Profile

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.