Western Union Has Waited Too Long to Refocus Retail Business, Says Truist
2022.04.29 20:06
By Sam Boughedda
Investing.com — Western Union Co (NYSE:WU) stock has tumbled over 11% Friday following its Thursday evening earnings release.
The company posted earnings per share of $0.51, beating estimates of $0.43 by analysts polled by Investing.com, while revenue came in at $1.16 billion, in line with expectations.
Following the release, JPMorgan analyst Tien-Tsin Huang maintained an Underweight rating but trimmed the price target on Western Union to $19 from $20. Huang told investors that “1Q was challenged by macro headwinds and the suspension of services in Russia and Belarus, with revenue contracting 1%, below expectations.”
Meanwhile, Citigroup’s Ashwin Shirvaikar downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy, cutting the price target to $20 from $23. Shirvaikar said the prior upgrade “never quite got off the ground” and that “some recent developments either add risk or push out the story.”
“It is better to move to the sidelines and see what specific actions management outlines at the analyst day,” added Shirvaikar.
Finally, Truist analyst Andrew Jeffrey wrote in a note that “Western Union has waited too long to refocus its retail business and will be challenged to grow its digital channel at attractive unit economics given intense competition.”
“We are not convinced that tweaking its retail model will be sufficient after a period in which competitors, like Euronet, have invested aggressively to expand, especially in critical Receive markets,” he wrote.
Jeffrey has a Hold rating and an $18 price target on Western Union.
