Western Union (NYSE:WU) Reaches New 12-Month Low - Time to Sell?

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report)'s stock 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 $10.31, with a volume of 633224 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $10.28.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WU. 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Union from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report 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. Finally, UBS Group lowered 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 note on Thursday, October 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.63.

Western Union Trading Down 0.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.85. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $10.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. Western Union's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.21%.

Western Union declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, December 13th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Union

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in Western Union by 0.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,926,192 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $154,209,000 after buying an additional 52,081 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Western Union by 0.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,179,698 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $85,671,000 after buying an additional 25,458 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake 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 worth $45,586,000 after buying an additional 1,439,310 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in Western Union by 4.7% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,880,800 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $22,438,000 after buying an additional 84,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Western Union by 20.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,698,559 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $20,264,000 after buying an additional 283,479 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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