The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Shares Bought by Quest Partners LLC

Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 74.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,838 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,159 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $702,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Western Union by 7,569.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,905,891 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $194,405,000 after buying an additional 13,724,584 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 17.7% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 9,736,930 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $118,985,000 after acquiring an additional 1,462,853 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Western Union by 62.8% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,730,450 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $45,586,000 after acquiring an additional 1,439,310 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Western Union by 52.0% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,337,466 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,784,000 after purchasing an additional 1,142,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Western Union by 5,731.4% in the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 787,943 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,629,000 after purchasing an additional 774,431 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of WU stock opened at $11.06 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The Western Union Company has a 12-month low of $10.51 and a 12-month high of $14.19. The company has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.04.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.02. Western Union had a return on equity of 120.39% and a net margin of 16.07%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. Western Union’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Western Union from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.86.

Western Union Company 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.