Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases New Position in The Western Union Company $WU

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 152,961 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,178,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WU. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 43.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,838,382 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $33,509,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163,577 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Western Union by 52.6% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 520,779 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,547,000 after purchasing an additional 179,423 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Western Union by 28.5% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,922,728 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $16,785,000 after purchasing an additional 426,939 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Western Union in the second quarter worth $11,248,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Western Union by 35.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,407,960 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $96,898,000 after buying an additional 2,716,385 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Union Stock Performance

Western Union stock opened at $7.24 on Monday. The Western Union Company has a 12 month low of $6.27 and a 12 month high of $10.35. The company has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 0.47. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.37 earnings per share. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.350 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.0%. Western Union’s payout ratio is 76.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WU. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Western Union from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. New Street Research reissued a “reduce” rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Western Union from $8.50 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Zacks Research cut shares of Western Union from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Western Union from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and eight have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus target price of $7.55.

Western Union 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.