Western Union (NYSE:WU) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $7.05 and last traded at $7.0740, with a volume of 9724039 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $7.12.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings lowered Western Union from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $8.82.

Western Union Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.33, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $8.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.02.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.15). Western Union had a net margin of 10.88% and a return on equity of 55.94%. The business had revenue of $963.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.750-1.850 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.12%.

Insider Activity at Western Union

In related news, insider Giovanni Angelini sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.47, for a total transaction of $56,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 311,292 shares in the company, valued at $2,947,935.24. This represents a 1.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Benjamin Carlton Adams sold 19,924 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.23, for a total transaction of $183,898.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 234,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,166,179.47. The trade was a 7.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 3.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Union

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WU. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Western Union by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,471,400 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $320,929,000 after acquiring an additional 1,171,810 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in Western Union by 28.0% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 16,948,328 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $135,417,000 after purchasing an additional 3,708,291 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,984,472 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $130,195,000 after purchasing an additional 580,264 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,081,062 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $121,785,000 after purchasing an additional 624,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Union by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,746,779 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $99,891,000 after purchasing an additional 962,341 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Company Profile

Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments. The company enables individuals and businesses to send and receive money through a variety of channels, including its vast agent network, online platforms, and mobile applications. Core services include person-to-person money transfers, business-to-business cross-border payments, bill payment services and prepaid card programs.

Through its digital offerings, Western Union provides customers with the ability to initiate transfers via its website and mobile app, as well as track transactions in real time.