Western Union (NYSE:WU) Insider Giovanni Angelini Sells 6,000 Shares of Stock

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) insider Giovanni Angelini sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.47, for a total transaction of $56,820.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 311,292 shares in the company, valued at $2,947,935.24. The trade was a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Western Union Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of WU stock opened at $9.08 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.67, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.50. The Western Union Company has a one year low of $7.85 and a one year high of $10.35. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $9.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.88, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $963.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 10.88% and a return on equity of 55.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.41 earnings per share. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.750-1.850 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.12%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Union

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WU. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 606.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 3,265 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 2,803 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 260.7% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,593 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 2,597 shares in the last quarter. Ascentis Independent Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Western Union in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 1,546.5% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 3,326 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 3,124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 67.0% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,331 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 1,336 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WU has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Western Union from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Western Union to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $8.82.

About Western Union

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.