Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC Raises Position in The Western Union Company $WU

Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC increased its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 167.4% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 111,001 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 69,494 shares during the period. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $935,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union during the second quarter worth $703,000. Ethic Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Western Union during the 2nd quarter valued at $360,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 29.9% during the 1st 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 lifted its holdings 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. boosted its stake in Western Union by 28.6% in 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. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WU opened at $9.04 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $8.59 and its 200 day moving average is $8.58. The stock has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.52. The Western Union Company has a 1-year low of $7.85 and a 1-year high of $11.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.04. Western Union had a return on equity of 60.85% and a net margin of 18.80%.The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. Western Union’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Western Union has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.650-1.750 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WU shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Western Union from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Western Union from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Citigroup upgraded shares of Western Union to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Western Union from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $8.70.

Insider Activity

In other Western Union news, insider Giovanni Angelini bought 10,000 shares of Western Union stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.95 per share, with a total value of $89,500.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 186,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,673,041.40. This trade represents a 5.65% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.58% of the company’s stock.

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.