The Western Union Company $WU Shares Sold by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC reduced its stake in The Western Union Company by 62.6%, selling 76,839 shares in the second quarter and holding 45,974 shares worth approximately $396,000 at the end of the reporting period.
• Several analysts have downgraded their price targets for Western Union, with Monness Crespi & Hardt setting a target of $7.00 and Royal Bank of Canada lowering theirs to $9.00, reflecting a generally pessimistic outlook for the stock.
• The CFO and CEO of Western Union made significant purchases of the company's shares in August, with the CFO buying 17,500 shares and the CEO acquiring 176,470 shares, marking increases in their respective ownership stakes.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lessened its position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 62.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 45,974 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 76,839 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Western Union were worth $396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WU. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Western Union during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,018,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC purchased a new stake in Western Union in the first quarter valued at $149,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 45.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 21,456 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union during the first quarter worth about $124,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on WU shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their price objective on shares of Western Union from $7.50 to $7.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Western Union from $13.00 to $9.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Western Union from $10.50 to $8.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $10.00 price target on Western Union in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Union presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $8.50.

Insider Activity at Western Union

In related news, CFO Matthew Cagwin bought 17,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.36 per share, with a total value of $146,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 225,611 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,886,107.96. The trade was a 8.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Devin Mcgranahan purchased 176,470 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.49 per share, with a total value of $1,498,230.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 913,125 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,752,431.25. The trade was a 23.96% 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 Stock Up 0.7%

WU stock opened at $8.07 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $8.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.98. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.06, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.61. The Western Union Company has a one year low of $7.85 and a one year high of $12.02.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 21.83% and a return on equity of 66.11%. Western Union's revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. Western Union has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.650-1.750 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. Western Union's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.61%.

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.

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