Engineers Gate Manager LP Purchases 1,400,369 Shares of The Western Union Company $WU

Key Points

• Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its Western Union stake by 467.6% in the second quarter, purchasing 1.4 million additional shares and bringing its total holdings to approximately 1.7 million shares, or 0.55% of the company.
• Western Union reported quarterly EPS of $0.31, below the $0.42 analyst consensus, while revenue declined 1.3% year over year to $1.01 billion. The stock opened at $6.88, near its 12-month low.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.235 per share, representing an annualized yield of approximately 13.7%. Analysts remain bearish, with a consensus “Strong Sell” rating and a $7.55 target price.

Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 467.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,699,841 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,400,369 shares during the quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP owned about 0.55% of Western Union worth $13,089,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WU. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position 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. raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 179,423 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Western Union during the second quarter worth $241,806,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Western Union in the second quarter valued at $11,248,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Western Union by 28.5% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,922,728 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $16,785,000 after acquiring an additional 426,939 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of WU opened at $6.88 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $7.54 and a 200 day moving average of $8.25. The company has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.50. The Western Union Company has a 12 month low of $6.27 and a 12 month high of $10.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 50.89%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.37 EPS. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.350 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 16th. Western Union's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WU shares. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Western Union from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Western Union from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. New Street Research reaffirmed a "reduce" rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Wolfe Research reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $8.00 price target on shares of Western Union in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on shares of Western Union from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and eight have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Strong Sell" and a consensus target price of $7.55.

About Western Union

Western Union Company NYSE: WU is a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments. The company enables individuals and businesses to send and receive money through a variety of channels, including its vast agent network, online platforms, and mobile applications. Core services include person-to-person money transfers, business-to-business cross-border payments, bill payment services and prepaid card programs.

Through its digital offerings, Western Union provides customers with the ability to initiate transfers via its website and mobile app, as well as track transactions in real time.

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