Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Purchases New Holdings in The Western Union Company $WU

Key Points

• Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC has acquired a new stake of 478,634 shares in The Western Union Company, valued at approximately $5.06 million, representing 0.14% ownership as reported in their recent SEC filing.
• Western Union's stock has exhibited fluctuations with a 12-month low of $7.89 and a high of $12.40, amid recent financial performance showing a 3.8% year-over-year decline in quarterly revenue.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.235, set to be paid on September 30th, which equates to an annualized yield of 10.8%.

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 478,634 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,064,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned 0.14% of Western Union as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WU. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its holdings in Western Union by 1,487.6% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 3,080 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 2,886 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Western Union by 80.2% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,264 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Western Union by 464.3% in the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 3,397 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,795 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Western Union by 188.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,803 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Western Union in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WU opened at $8.73 on Thursday. The Western Union Company has a 12 month low of $7.89 and a 12 month high of $12.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $8.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.64.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.02). Western Union had a net margin of 21.83% and a return on equity of 66.11%. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. Western Union's quarterly revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Union has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.650-1.750 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.8%. Western Union's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WU. Zacks Research raised Western Union to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $10.00 price objective on Western Union in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Western Union from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Barclays set a $8.00 price objective on Western Union and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Western Union in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $8.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Union news, CFO Matthew Cagwin purchased 17,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.36 per share, for a total transaction of $146,300.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 225,611 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,886,107.96. The trade was a 8.41% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Devin Mcgranahan purchased 176,470 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $8.49 per share, with a total value of $1,498,230.30. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 913,125 shares in the company, valued at $7,752,431.25. The trade was a 23.96% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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