Western Union (NYSE:WU) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $10.75 and last traded at $10.80, with a volume of 4401054 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $11.22.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WU shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective 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. reduced their target price on Western Union from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com raised Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, 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 note on Thursday, October 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.86.

Western Union Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a PE ratio of 5.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50-day moving average of $11.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.31.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WU. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 7,569.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,905,891 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $194,405,000 after buying an additional 13,724,584 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in Western Union by 17.7% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 9,736,930 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $118,985,000 after purchasing an additional 1,462,853 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Western Union by 62.8% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,730,450 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $45,586,000 after buying an additional 1,439,310 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Western Union by 52.0% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,337,466 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,784,000 after buying an additional 1,142,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new position in Western Union during the 1st quarter worth approximately $12,051,000. 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.