UPDATE: Citi Upgrades Western Union Co. (WU) to Neutral

(updating comment)

Citi analyst Andrew Schmidt upgraded Western Union Co. (NYSE: WU) from Sell to Neutral with a price target of $22.00 (from $21.00).

The analyst comments "Since Western Union has been Sell-rated for us since early-2014, it’s a fair question to ask, “Why now?” There are a few positive developments, in our view: the growth of the digital business; a better-demonstrated ability to handle regulatory risk; better cost controls/management; and lastly, the resilience of the core immigrant community (globally) in the face of a pandemic, antiimmigration attitudes, etc., over the past several years. These changes have not come easy and have required multi-year commitment to technology investments (for digital and regulation) and multiple iterations of the cost takeout plan but we believe they will persist. The valuation does not seem taxing but valuation has rarely been a consideration in our prior Sell rating – indeed, our prior call for underperformance was in spite of the stock being perceived as “cheap” based on criteria like P/E. Some risks remain – e.g., the competitive environment remains tough, the need for tech investments and regulatory oversight is persistent, etc."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Western Union Co. click here. For more ratings news on Western Union Co. click here.

Shares of Western Union Co. closed at $20.76 yesterday.

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