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

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $10.19 and last traded at $10.37, with a volume of 3322931 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $10.27.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WU. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays cut their target price on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group decreased 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, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Union from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.63.

Western Union Trading Up 1.3 %

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $10.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The firm has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.37, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.85.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.97%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. Western Union's payout ratio is currently 48.21%.

Western Union declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, December 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Western Union

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Union in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 52.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,588 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 89.3% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,226 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Western Union by 31.1% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,316 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Western Union in the 3rd quarter valued at $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company's stock.

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.