Western Union Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:WU)

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors bought 31,132 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 423% compared to the average volume of 5,955 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Union

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Western Union in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $241,806,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Western Union by 15.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,902,175 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $68,989,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039,604 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Western Union by 19.4% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,966,409 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $34,627,000 after purchasing an additional 645,451 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 43.5% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 0.4% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,789,861 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $24,355,000 after purchasing an additional 12,295 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:WU traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $6.16. The company had a trading volume of 1,284,434 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,971,229. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. Western Union has a 1-year low of $5.87 and a 1-year high of $10.35. The firm has a market cap of $1.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.68.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 50.89% and a net margin of 9.79%. Western Union’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.37 EPS. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.350 EPS. Research analysts predict that Western Union will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th were given a $0.2350 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 15.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 16th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WU has been the subject of several research reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Western Union from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Western Union from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Western Union from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and seven have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $7.18.

Western Union Company Profile

Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a global provider of money movement and payment services. The company enables consumers and businesses to send and receive money through digital platforms, retail locations and account-based services. Its offerings include domestic and international money transfers, bill payments, money orders and related payment solutions.

Western Union serves customers across a broad international network spanning more than 200 countries and territories. Consumers can access its services through the Western Union website and mobile application, as well as through a network of agent locations and other retail partners.