The Western Union Company $WU Shares Sold by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC cut its holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 51.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 67,067 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 70,700 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $536,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ethic Inc. purchased a new position in Western Union during the 2nd quarter worth $360,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in Western Union during the second quarter worth about $2,558,000. Novem Group acquired a new stake in Western Union in the second quarter valued at about $769,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in Western Union by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 69,894 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 3,399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 414.7% during the 2nd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,180,426 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,939,000 after buying an additional 951,066 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Giovanni Angelini purchased 10,000 shares of Western Union stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $8.95 per share, with a total value of $89,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 186,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,673,041.40. This trade represents a 5.65% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.58% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of WU opened at $9.51 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.15, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80. The business’s 50 day moving average is $9.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.70. The Western Union Company has a 52-week low of $7.85 and a 52-week high of $11.94.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.04. Western Union had a net margin of 18.80% and a return on equity of 60.85%. 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 previous year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 22nd were given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 22nd. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.9%. Western Union’s payout ratio is presently 41.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WU has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded Western Union to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Western Union from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. UBS Group increased their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Western Union from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Wednesday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $8.80.

Western Union Company Profile

Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments. The company enables individuals and businesses to send and receive money through a variety of channels, including its vast agent network, online platforms, and mobile applications. Core services include person-to-person money transfers, business-to-business cross-border payments, bill payment services and prepaid card programs.

Through its digital offerings, Western Union provides customers with the ability to initiate transfers via its website and mobile app, as well as track transactions in real time.