Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Has $9.94 Million Holdings in The Western Union Company $WU

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 414.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,180,426 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 951,066 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned about 0.36% of Western Union worth $9,939,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in Western Union by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 239,236 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,530,000 after purchasing an additional 1,085 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in shares of Western Union by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 186,822 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,947,000 after acquiring an additional 1,249 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Union by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 405,839 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,294,000 after acquiring an additional 1,262 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Western Union by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 62,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $665,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Western Union by 80.2% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,264 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Union Stock Performance

NYSE WU opened at $8.05 on Friday. The Western Union Company has a 1 year low of $7.85 and a 1 year high of $12.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a PE ratio of 3.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.01.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.02). Western Union had a return on equity of 66.11% and a net margin of 21.83%.The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Western Union has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.650-1.750 EPS. Analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 16th. Western Union’s payout ratio is currently 35.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays set a $8.00 target price on shares of Western Union and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $10.00 price objective on shares of Western Union in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Western Union from $10.50 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Western Union to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $8.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Devin Mcgranahan acquired 176,470 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.49 per share, with a total value of $1,498,230.30. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 913,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,752,431.25. The trade was a 23.96% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew Cagwin acquired 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.36 per share, with a total value of $146,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 225,611 shares in the company, valued at $1,886,107.96. The trade was a 8.41% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.58% of the company’s stock.

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.