AlphaQuest LLC Increases Position in The Western Union Company $WU

AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 267.8% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 41,613 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 30,300 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Western Union during the second quarter valued at about $703,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Western Union by 188.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,803 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 2,483 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new stake in Western Union during the first quarter valued at about $124,000. Ethic Inc. purchased a new stake in Western Union during the second quarter valued at about $360,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Western Union by 29.9% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 145,513 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,540,000 after buying an additional 33,535 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Western Union

In related news, CEO Devin Mcgranahan purchased 176,470 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.49 per share, with a total value of $1,498,230.30. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 913,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,752,431.25. This represents a 23.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew Cagwin purchased 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.36 per share, with a total value of $146,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 225,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,886,107.96. This represents a 8.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 1.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WU has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Western Union to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Western Union from $10.50 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut their price target on shares of Western Union from $7.50 to $7.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $9.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $8.55.

Western Union Price Performance

WU stock opened at $9.43 on Friday. The Western Union Company has a 1 year low of $7.85 and a 1 year high of $11.94. The company has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.12, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $8.40 and a 200 day moving average of $8.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.04. Western Union had a net margin of 18.80% and a return on equity of 60.85%. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. Western Union’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Western Union has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.650-1.750 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th were paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 16th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.05%.

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.