AXQ Capital LP Lowers Holdings in The Western Union Company $WU

AXQ Capital LP decreased its position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 89.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,031 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 217,525 shares during the quarter. AXQ Capital LP’s holdings in Western Union were worth $200,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in Western Union by 649.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 3,462 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 260.7% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,593 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 2,597 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Western Union by 667.0% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,602 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 4,002 shares during the period. Caldwell Trust Co bought a new position in Western Union in the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in Western Union during the third quarter worth $50,000. 91.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WU opened at $9.60 on Friday. The Western Union Company has a fifty-two week low of $7.85 and a fifty-two week high of $11.94. The company has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a PE ratio of 6.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.19. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.93.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 20th. The credit services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 12.33% and a return on equity of 62.01%. Western Union’s revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.750-1.850 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.8%. Western Union’s payout ratio is 61.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WU. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Western Union from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Western Union to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Western Union from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Western Union from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $8.82.

About Western Union

Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments. The company enables individuals and businesses to send and receive money through a variety of channels, including its vast agent network, online platforms, and mobile applications. Core services include person-to-person money transfers, business-to-business cross-border payments, bill payment services and prepaid card programs.

Through its digital offerings, Western Union provides customers with the ability to initiate transfers via its website and mobile app, as well as track transactions in real time.