Strs Ohio Takes Position in The Western Union Company $WU

Key Points

• Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in The Western Union Company during the first quarter, purchasing 253,000 shares valued at approximately $2.68 million, representing about 0.08% ownership.
• Western Union reported earnings of $0.42 per share in its last quarter, missing analysts' expectations, with a revenue decrease of 3.8% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.235, yielding 11.2%, to be paid on September 30th; the ex-dividend date is September 16th.

Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 253,000 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,677,000. Strs Ohio owned about 0.08% of Western Union as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Western Union during the first quarter valued at $1,018,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Union during the 1st quarter valued at about $149,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 45.5% during the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 68,622 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $726,000 after acquiring an additional 21,456 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 188.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,803 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. bought a new stake in Western Union during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $124,000. 91.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Union Price Performance

Western Union stock opened at $8.39 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.64. The business's fifty day moving average is $8.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.27. The Western Union Company has a 52 week low of $7.89 and a 52 week high of $12.40.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 66.11% and a net margin of 21.83%.The company's revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. Western Union has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.650-1.750 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. Western Union's dividend payout ratio is 35.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WU. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Western Union in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Western Union from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Zacks Research raised Western Union to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Barclays set a $8.00 price objective on Western Union and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Western Union from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. 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, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $8.61.

Insider Activity

In other Western Union news, CFO Matthew Cagwin purchased 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Devin Mcgranahan purchased 176,470 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $8.49 per share, with a total value of $1,498,230.30. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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