Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Acquires Shares of 30,459 The Western Union Company $WU

Key Points

• Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake of approximately $322,000 in The Western Union Company, purchasing 30,459 shares during the first quarter.
• Western Union's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $0.42, which was below the consensus estimate of $0.44, and a revenue of $1.03 billion, down 3.8% from the same quarter last year.
• The company declared a dividend of $0.235 per share, representing an annual yield of 10.6%, with the payment set for September 30th to investors of record on September 16th.

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 30,459 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $322,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in Western Union in the first quarter valued at approximately $5,064,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in Western Union by 68.1% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 13,524 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $143,000 after buying an additional 5,477 shares in the last quarter. Mubadala Investment Co PJSC lifted its position in Western Union by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Mubadala Investment Co PJSC now owns 223,506 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,365,000 after buying an additional 3,355 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Union by 15.1% in the 1st quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 27,566 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 3,619 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its stake in Western Union by 43.1% in the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 21,669 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 6,524 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Western Union in a report on Monday, June 2nd. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Western Union to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Western Union from $10.50 to $8.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $9.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Union has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $8.61.

Insider Activity at Western Union

In related news, CFO Matthew Cagwin bought 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $8.36 per share, with a total value of $146,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Devin Mcgranahan purchased 176,470 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.49 per share, for a total transaction of $1,498,230.30. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 913,125 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,752,431.25. This represents a 23.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Western Union Stock Performance

WU traded down $0.09 on Tuesday, hitting $8.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,472,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,417,832. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $8.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.35. The firm has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.64. The Western Union Company has a 12 month low of $7.89 and a 12 month high of $12.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 66.11% and a net margin of 21.83%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. Western Union has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.650-1.750 EPS. Analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.9%. Western Union's payout ratio is currently 35.61%.

Western Union Company Profile

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.