Vanguard Group Inc. Trims Holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has decreased its holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 1.5%, resulting in ownership of approximately 37.5 million shares, valued at about $396.7 million after selling 559,838 shares.
• Western Union reported a Q2 earnings per share (EPS) of $0.42, missing analysts' expectations by $0.02, with revenue down 3.8% year-over-year.
• Four investment analysts have rated Western Union with a sell rating, and the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" along with an average target price of $8.61.

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,495,823 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 559,838 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 11.34% of Western Union worth $396,706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in Western Union by 43.3% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 297,584 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,154,000 after buying an additional 89,901 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Western Union by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 404,577 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,289,000 after buying an additional 19,237 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Western Union by 145.1% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 72,795 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $786,000 after buying an additional 43,095 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Western Union in the 4th quarter valued at $116,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Western Union in the 4th quarter valued at $705,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WU has been the topic of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $9.00 price objective on the stock. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. 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. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Western Union from $10.50 to $8.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $10.00 price target on shares of Western Union in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $8.61.

Western Union Stock Performance

NYSE:WU opened at $8.37 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.70 billion, a PE ratio of 3.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.61. The Western Union Company has a fifty-two week low of $7.89 and a fifty-two week high of $12.40. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $8.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.58. 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 issued 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 analyst estimates 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 was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.44 earnings per share. Analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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