Western Union (NYSE:WU) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $10.19 and last traded at $10.30, with a volume of 552896 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.40.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.63.

Western Union Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $10.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The stock has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a PE ratio of 5.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.85.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 16.07% and a return on equity of 120.39%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.10%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. Western Union’s payout ratio is 48.21%.

Western Union announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, December 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WU. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in Western Union during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Western Union by 52.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,588 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Western Union by 89.3% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,226 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Western Union by 31.1% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,316 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in Western Union during the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. 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.