Crestline Management LP Raises Stock Holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Crestline Management LP increased its stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 204.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 160,316 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 107,620 shares during the quarter. Crestline Management LP's holdings in Western Union were worth $1,699,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Western Union by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 608,454 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $7,257,000 after acquiring an additional 51,327 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 1.4% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 88,410 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Western Union by 8.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,103,296 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $13,061,000 after buying an additional 81,343 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Western Union by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,698,559 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $20,264,000 after buying an additional 283,479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elevated Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Western Union by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 59,388 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $630,000 after purchasing an additional 5,629 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on WU. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered Western Union from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $7.50 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Union currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.78.

Western Union Stock Performance

WU traded up $0.23 on Monday, hitting $9.99. 9,678,129 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,954,415. The company has a 50 day moving average of $10.22 and a 200-day moving average of $10.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a PE ratio of 3.66, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04. The Western Union Company has a 12-month low of $9.00 and a 12-month high of $13.49.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.01. Western Union had a net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%. The firm had revenue of $983.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

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.