Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Takes Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 21,984 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $262,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Western Union by 1,092.6% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,462 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 5,004 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Western Union in the third quarter valued at $83,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Western Union by 23.2% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 6,793 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 1,278 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Western Union

In other news, Director Timothy P. Murphy acquired 10,000 shares of Western Union stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $12.85 per share, for a total transaction of $128,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,205 shares in the company, valued at $722,234.25. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Western Union Stock Performance

NYSE WU opened at $13.37 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.38. The Western Union Company has a 52-week low of $10.92 and a 52-week high of $14.19. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $13.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.62. The firm has a market cap of $4.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.84.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.05. Western Union had a return on equity of 120.76% and a net margin of 14.12%. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Western Union from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on Western Union from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt began coverage on Western Union in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.61.

About Western Union

The Western Union Company provides money movement and payment services worldwide. The company operates through Consumer Money Transfer and Consumer Services segments. The Consumer Money Transfer segment facilitates money transfers for international cross-border and intra-country transfers, primarily through a network of retail agent locations, as well as through websites and mobile devices.