The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Stake Cut by Lecap Asset Management Ltd.

by · The Markets Daily

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. cut its position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU – Free Report) by 29.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,573 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 21,282 shares during the quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Western Union were worth $535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its stake in Western Union by 1,487.6% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 3,080 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 2,886 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 80.2% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,264 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank grew its position in shares of Western Union by 662.7% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,722 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 3,234 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Western Union by 188.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,803 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 267.5% in the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 3,833 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 2,790 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Western Union in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $10.50 price objective (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Western Union currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.78.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Western Union

Western Union Price Performance

NYSE:WU opened at $8.47 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $9.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.14. The firm has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.16, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.68. The Western Union Company has a 52-week low of $8.36 and a 52-week high of $13.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97.

Western Union (NYSE:WU – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $983.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 77.19% and a net margin of 22.08%. Western Union’s revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.10%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.07%.

About Western Union

(Free Report)

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.

Featured Articles