RiverFront Investment Group LLC Makes New $243,000 Investment in The Western Union Company $WU

RiverFront Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 28,886 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $243,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Marshall Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Union in the second quarter worth $703,000. Ethic Inc. purchased a new position in Western Union in the second quarter valued at $360,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Western Union by 29.9% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 145,513 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,540,000 after purchasing an additional 33,535 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Western Union by 285.9% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 278,679 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,947,000 after purchasing an additional 206,463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Western Union by 28.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,458,054 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $15,426,000 after purchasing an additional 324,213 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Price Performance

WU stock opened at $8.62 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80. The company has a market capitalization of $2.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.76, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.63. The Western Union Company has a twelve month low of $7.85 and a twelve month high of $11.94.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 18.80% and a return on equity of 60.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. Western Union has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.650-1.750 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 16th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Western Union from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Western Union from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Barclays set a $8.00 price target on shares of Western Union and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Western Union from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt decreased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $7.50 to $7.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $8.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Union

In related news, insider Giovanni Angelini purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $8.95 per share, with a total value of $89,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 186,932 shares in the company, valued at $1,673,041.40. This represents a 5.65% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.58% of the company’s stock.

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.