Amalgamated Bank Trims Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Amalgamated Bank lessened its stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 158,112 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 4,000 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Western Union were worth $1,673,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Western Union by 171.5% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 17,777 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $188,000 after purchasing an additional 11,229 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in Western Union in the 4th quarter valued at about $186,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Western Union in the 4th quarter valued at about $705,000. Inceptionr LLC acquired a new position in Western Union in the 4th quarter valued at about $328,000. Finally, Amundi grew its position in Western Union by 190.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 334,911 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,496,000 after acquiring an additional 219,798 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of Western Union stock opened at $8.62 on Monday. The Western Union Company has a 1-year low of $8.29 and a 1-year high of $13.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $9.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.03. The company has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.22, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.65.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $983.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 77.19% and a net margin of 22.08%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.90%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WU. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Western Union in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $10.50 target price (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered Western Union from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $7.50 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.78.

Western Union Profile

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.