Amundi Has $621,000 Stake in The Western Union Company $WU

Key Points

• Amundi reduced its Western Union stake by 86% in the second quarter, selling 495,741 shares and retaining 80,724 shares valued at approximately $621,000. Institutional investors collectively own 91.81% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains weak: Western Union has a consensus “Strong Sell” rating from MarketBeat, with an average price target of $7.55. The stock opened at $6.86, while recent quarterly earnings and revenue fell short of expectations.
• Western Union declared a quarterly dividend of $0.235 per share, equivalent to $0.94 annually and a 13.7% yield; its payout ratio is currently 76.42%.

Amundi cut its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 86.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 80,724 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 495,741 shares during the quarter. Amundi's holdings in Western Union were worth $621,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Western Union by 43.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,838,382 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $33,509,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163,577 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 52.6% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 520,779 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,547,000 after purchasing an additional 179,423 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Western Union during the second quarter worth approximately $241,806,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union in the second quarter valued at approximately $11,248,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Western Union by 28.5% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,922,728 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $16,785,000 after buying an additional 426,939 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WU shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Western Union from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. New Street Research reaffirmed a "reduce" rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Western Union from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and eight have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Union currently has a consensus rating of "Strong Sell" and an average price target of $7.55.

Western Union Stock Performance

NYSE WU opened at $6.86 on Wednesday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $7.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.20. The stock has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The Western Union Company has a fifty-two week low of $6.27 and a fifty-two week high of $10.35.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.11). Western Union had a return on equity of 50.89% and a net margin of 9.79%.The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.37 EPS. Western Union's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.350 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 16th. Western Union's payout ratio is currently 76.42%.

About Western Union

Western Union Company NYSE: WU is a global provider of money movement and payment services. The company enables consumers and businesses to send and receive money across borders and within individual markets through digital platforms, mobile applications and a network of retail agent locations.

Its services include consumer money transfers, international remittances, bill payments and money orders. Customers can typically initiate transfers online, through the Western Union app or at participating retail locations, with recipients able to collect funds in cash or receive them through eligible bank accounts, digital wallets or other payment methods, depending on the destination market.

Western Union traces its origins to 1851, when it was established as a telegraph company in the United States.

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