Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Makes New Investment in The Western Union Company $WU

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 365,490 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,077,000. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned about 0.11% of Western Union as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in Western Union during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,429,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in Western Union in the second quarter worth approximately $1,380,000. WBI Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. WBI Investments LLC now owns 103,798 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $874,000 after acquiring an additional 6,798 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Western Union by 10.7% during the 2nd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 267,160 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,249,000 after acquiring an additional 25,888 shares during the period. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 89,729 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $756,000 after purchasing an additional 4,053 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Union news, insider Giovanni Angelini acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.95 per share, with a total value of $89,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 186,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,673,041.40. The trade was a 5.65% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WU has been the topic of several analyst reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered their target price on Western Union from $7.50 to $7.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Barclays set a $8.00 price objective on Western Union and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $10.00 target price on shares of Western Union in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Western Union from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $8.70.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WU opened at $8.38 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.64. The Western Union Company has a 52 week low of $7.85 and a 52 week high of $11.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.66, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.61.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.04. Western Union had a return on equity of 60.85% and a net margin of 18.80%.The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. Western Union’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Union has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.650-1.750 EPS. On average, analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. Western Union’s payout ratio is 41.05%.

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.