Western Union Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:WU)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Traders purchased 31,132 Western Union call options, approximately 423% above the typical volume of 5,955 contracts.
• Analysts remain bearish: Western Union has a consensus “Reduce” rating, with seven analysts rating it a Hold and seven a Sell; the average price target is $7.18.
• Weak performance but high dividend yield: Shares traded near $6.16, close to their 52-week low, after the company missed quarterly EPS and revenue expectations. Western Union pays an annualized dividend of $0.94 per share, yielding approximately 15.3%.

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders purchased 31,132 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 423% compared to the typical volume of 5,955 call options.

Institutional Trading of Western Union

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WU. Ascentis Independent Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in Western Union by 179.6% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,341 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 2,146 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Western Union by 32.5% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 8,200 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 2,010 shares during the period. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in Western Union during the second quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Western Union by 197.3% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 6,516 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 4,324 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Western Union from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings cut Western Union from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Western Union from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $8.00 price target on shares of Western Union in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, New Street Research reaffirmed a "reduce" rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Union currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $7.18.

Western Union Price Performance

NYSE WU traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $6.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,284,434 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,971,229. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The company's 50-day moving average is $6.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.68. Western Union has a fifty-two week low of $5.87 and a fifty-two week high of $10.35. The stock has a market cap of $1.92 billion, a PE ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 0.51.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.02 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 50.89%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.37 EPS. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.350 EPS. Analysts forecast that Western Union will post 1.28 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.2350 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 15.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 16th. Western Union's payout ratio is currently 76.42%.

Western Union Company Profile

Western Union Company NYSE: WU is a global provider of money movement and payment services. The company enables consumers and businesses to send and receive money through digital platforms, retail locations and account-based services. Its offerings include domestic and international money transfers, bill payments, money orders and related payment solutions.

Western Union serves customers across a broad international network spanning more than 200 countries and territories. Consumers can access its services through the Western Union website and mobile application, as well as through a network of agent locations and other retail partners.

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