Western Union (NYSE:WU) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) shares reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $10.26 and last traded at $10.30, with a volume of 462717 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $10.43.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays dropped their target price 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. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised 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 given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.63.

Western Union Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.02. Western Union had a return on equity of 120.39% and a net margin of 16.07%. 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 prior year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.

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 issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.15%. Western Union’s payout ratio is 48.21%.

Western Union declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, December 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Union

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WU. Range Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 828.1% during the 4th quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 93,959 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $996,000 after acquiring an additional 83,835 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 87,929 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $932,000 after purchasing an additional 7,738 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of 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 during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 6.8% in the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 27,044 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 1,727 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Western Union by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,103,296 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $13,061,000 after buying an additional 81,343 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.