Perbak Capital Partners LLP Makes New $348,000 Investment in The Western Union Company $WU

Key Points

• Perbak Capital Partners LLP has purchased a new stake in The Western Union Company, acquiring 32,876 shares valued at approximately $348,000 during the first quarter of the year.
• Western Union's stock price opened at $8.67 on Tuesday, and the company reported quarterly earnings of $0.42 EPS, missing expectations of $0.44.
• The company will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.235 on September 30th, representing an annualized yield of 10.8% and a dividend payout ratio of 35.61%.

Perbak Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 32,876 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $348,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WU. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Union during the first quarter worth about $1,018,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 1st quarter worth $149,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 45.5% during the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 68,622 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $726,000 after acquiring an additional 21,456 shares during the period. 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, Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union in the first quarter valued at approximately $124,000. 91.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Western Union

In other news, CEO Devin Mcgranahan acquired 176,470 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.49 per share, for a total transaction of $1,498,230.30. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 913,125 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,752,431.25. This trade represents a 23.96% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew Cagwin bought 17,500 shares of the firm'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 purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 225,611 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,886,107.96. This trade represents a 8.41% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Western Union Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of WU traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $8.85. The company had a trading volume of 8,167,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,499,622. The Western Union Company has a 1-year low of $7.89 and a 1-year high of $12.40. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $8.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.38. The stock has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a PE ratio of 3.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.64. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $0.42 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.6%. Western Union's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $10.00 price target on shares of Western Union in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. UBS Group decreased their price target on 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 reduced their price objective on Western Union from $13.00 to $9.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Western Union in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $9.00 price target for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $8.61.

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.