Western Union (NYSE:WU) Reaches New 1-Year Low - What's Next?

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WU shares. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.11.

Western Union Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.69. The business's fifty day moving average is $10.52 and its 200 day moving average is $10.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04.

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

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Western Union's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Union

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Western Union by 18.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Western Union by 202.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,661,732 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $60,014,000 after purchasing an additional 3,792,683 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 worth $118,788,000 after purchasing an additional 3,146,395 shares in the last quarter. Brickwood Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,177,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 32.1% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,021,308 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $95,626,000 after buying an additional 2,194,403 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.