Invesco Ltd. Increases Stock Position in The Western Union Company $WU

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. has increased its stake in The Western Union Company by 1.8%, now owning approximately 5.76 million shares valued at $60.99 million.
• Despite recent institutional investments, analyst ratings for Western Union remain cautious, with five analysts issuing sell ratings and eight giving hold ratings, reflecting uncertainty about the company's performance.
• The company reported disappointing quarterly earnings, missing EPS estimates and showing a revenue decline of 3.8% compared to the previous year.

Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 1.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,765,064 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 103,332 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned about 1.74% of Western Union worth $60,994,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 1,487.6% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 3,080 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 2,886 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Western Union by 80.2% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,264 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 1,453 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Western Union by 464.3% during the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 3,397 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 2,795 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position 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 valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,483 shares during the period. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC increased its position in Western Union by 267.5% during the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 3,833 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 2,790 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays set a $8.00 price target on shares of Western Union and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $9.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $8.61.

Western Union Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE WU traded down $0.0550 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $8.3650. 4,601,978 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,379,484. The company has a 50 day moving average of $8.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.55. 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 Western Union Company has a 52-week low of $7.89 and a 52-week high of $12.40. The firm has a market cap of $2.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.17, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.61.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.44 EPS. Western Union'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 research analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

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.