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

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 11,759.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,954,045 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,886,978 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned approximately 2.50% of Western Union worth $74,052,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in Western Union by 48.5% during the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 13,240,037 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $111,481,000 after purchasing an additional 4,321,604 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 821.1% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 4,170,343 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,114,000 after buying an additional 3,717,589 shares during the period. Meridiem Capital Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 190.7% in the 3rd quarter. Meridiem Capital Partners LP now owns 4,545,827 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $36,321,000 after buying an additional 2,982,044 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 128.4% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,900,542 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,155,000 after buying an additional 2,754,827 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 189.6% in the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 3,738,334 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $29,869,000 after buying an additional 2,447,525 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Western Union Trading Down 0.2%

WU stock opened at $9.18 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.00. The Western Union Company has a 52-week low of $7.85 and a 52-week high of $10.67. The firm has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.04, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.51.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The credit services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 62.01% and a net margin of 12.33%.Western Union’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.750-1.850 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.2%. Western Union’s payout ratio is 61.84%.

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.