Legal & General Group Plc Buys New Position in The Western Union Company $WU

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 818,489 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,302,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.26% of Western Union at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 606.7% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 3,265 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 2,803 shares during the period. Ascentis Independent Advisors acquired a new stake in Western Union in the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Western Union by 67.0% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,331 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,336 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in Western Union by 179.6% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,341 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 2,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Western Union during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. New Street Research reissued a “reduce” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Western Union from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Zacks Research lowered Western Union from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $8.00 price target on shares of Western Union in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Western Union from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and eight have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Union presently has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and an average price target of $7.55.

Western Union Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of NYSE:WU opened at $7.30 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.35. The Western Union Company has a 52 week low of $6.27 and a 52 week high of $10.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The company has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of 5.94 and a beta of 0.50.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 50.89%. Western Union’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.350 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 16th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.42%.

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.