Western Union (NYSE:WU) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Western Union (NYSE:WU) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on WU. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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 reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price target on shares of Western Union in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Union presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.86.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WU traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $11.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,276,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,070,146. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.98, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.36. Western Union has a 12-month low of $10.92 and a 12-month high of $14.19. The company has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.86.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.02. Western Union had a net margin of 13.64% and a return on equity of 123.71%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. Western Union’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Western Union will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Western Union during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $401,000. Insight Folios Inc grew its holdings in Western Union by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 466,494 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,565,000 after acquiring an additional 46,087 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in shares of Western Union by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 238,876 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,849,000 after buying an additional 1,205 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in shares of Western Union by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 185,573 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,274,000 after buying an additional 20,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Western Union by 50.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,121 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $514,000 after buying an additional 14,415 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

About Western Union

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.