Western Union (NYSE:WU) Hits New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $9.00 and last traded at $10.00, with a volume of 12826174 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $9.09.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on WU shares. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.11.

Western Union Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04. The company’s 50-day moving average is $10.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.82. The company has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.66, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.69.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%. Equities analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s payout ratio is 34.43%.

Western Union declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Friday, December 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Union

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Western Union by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,055,661 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $403,390,000 after purchasing an additional 317,711 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Western Union by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 28,983,265 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $307,224,000 after acquiring an additional 4,426,126 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Western Union by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,926,192 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $154,209,000 after acquiring an additional 52,081 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Western Union by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,489,079 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $132,384,000 after purchasing an additional 549,931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Western Union by 39.0% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,206,431 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $118,788,000 after purchasing an additional 3,146,395 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.