Ieq Capital LLC Acquires 233,271 Shares of The Western Union Company $WU

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC significantly increased its stake in The Western Union Company by 74.1%, acquiring an additional 233,271 shares to bring its total holdings to 548,163 shares.
• Western Union's quarterly earnings report showed an earnings per share of $0.42, missing estimates and reflecting a 3.8% year-over-year revenue decline.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.235 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 11.0%.

Ieq Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 74.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 548,163 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 233,271 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC owned about 0.17% of Western Union worth $5,800,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in Western Union during the first quarter worth $426,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Western Union by 1.7% during the first quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 1,178,788 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $12,472,000 after purchasing an additional 19,278 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Western Union by 14.7% during the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 128,360 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,358,000 after purchasing an additional 16,402 shares during the period. Kaufman Rossin Wealth LLC bought a new position in Western Union during the first quarter worth $122,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 85.1% in the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 446,196 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,721,000 after acquiring an additional 205,144 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on WU. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Western Union from $10.50 to $8.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $9.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Western Union in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Western Union to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $8.61.

Western Union Price Performance

Western Union stock traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $8.68. 2,040,385 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,455,464. The company has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. The Western Union Company has a twelve month low of $7.89 and a twelve month high of $12.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $8.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.42.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 66.11% and a net margin of 21.83%.The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. Western Union has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.650-1.750 EPS. Equities analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 10.8%. Western Union's dividend payout ratio is 35.61%.

Insider Transactions at Western Union

In related news, CFO Matthew Cagwin bought 17,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 8.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Devin Mcgranahan bought 176,470 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 913,125 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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.

Western Union 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.