Empowered Funds LLC Increases Stock Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 52.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,433 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,292 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $184,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 52.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,588 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 895 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Union in the first quarter valued at about $39,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 89.3% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,226 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 59.9% during the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,233 shares during the period. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Western Union in the third quarter worth about $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of 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 issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.86.

Western Union Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE WU opened at $11.10 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a PE ratio of 5.72, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.87. The Western Union Company has a 12 month low of $10.51 and a 12 month high of $14.19. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $11.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 16.07% and a return on equity of 120.39%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.

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.