Strs Ohio Buys New Stake 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 purchased a new stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 253,000 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,677,000. Strs Ohio owned approximately 0.08% of Western Union as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Western Union Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:WU traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $8.14. 16,293,446 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,230,807. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. The business has a 50-day moving average of $8.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.22. The Western Union Company has a twelve month low of $7.89 and a twelve month high of $12.40. The company has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.08, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.64.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Western Union had a return on equity of 66.11% and a net margin of 21.83%.The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. The firm's revenue 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. On average, equities analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 11.5%. Western Union's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $10.00 price objective on Western Union in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Western Union from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $9.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Western Union to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $8.61.

Insider Activity

In other Western Union news, CEO Devin Mcgranahan bought 176,470 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The stock was acquired 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 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Matthew Cagwin bought 17,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $8.36 per share, with a total value of $146,300.00. Following 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. Company insiders own 1.58% of the company's stock.

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.