Nuveen LLC Buys New Shares in The Western Union Company $WU

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired a new position in The Western Union Company, purchasing 701,374 shares valued at approximately $7.42 million, representing about 0.21% ownership as of their latest SEC filing.
• Hedge funds hold a significant majority of Western Union's stock, with institutional investors controlling 91.81% of shares, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Western Union's shares have experienced recent target price reductions from multiple analysts, with a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $8.61 following disappointing quarterly earnings.

Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 701,374 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,421,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.21% of Western Union as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Western Union by 5.8% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,217,217 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $139,838,000 after acquiring an additional 728,138 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Western Union by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,206,431 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $118,788,000 after acquiring an additional 3,146,395 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,064,269 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $74,881,000 after buying an additional 41,772 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,765,064 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $60,994,000 after buying an additional 103,332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,072,627 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $53,770,000 after buying an additional 428,856 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays set a $8.00 price target on shares of Western Union and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Western Union from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $10.00 price target on shares of Western Union in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "hold" rating and a $9.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group dropped 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $8.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Devin Mcgranahan purchased 176,470 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price 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. This represents a 23.96% 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, CFO Matthew Cagwin purchased 17,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 225,611 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,886,107.96. The trade was a 8.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Western Union Price Performance

NYSE WU traded up $0.16 on Friday, hitting $8.67. The stock had a trading volume of 10,565,448 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,007,374. The Western Union Company has a 52-week low of $7.89 and a 52-week high of $12.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $8.39 and a 200-day moving average of $9.44.

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). Western Union had a return on equity of 66.11% and a net margin of 21.83%.The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter 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. Equities analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 presently 35.61%.

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.