BlackRock Inc. Takes Position in The Western Union Company $WU

BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 31,403,327 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $241,806,000. BlackRock Inc. owned 0.10% of Western Union at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Western Union during the 2nd quarter valued at $173,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Western Union during the second quarter valued at approximately $466,000. Principle Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Union during the second quarter valued at approximately $135,000. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Union during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,698,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in Western Union in the second quarter valued at $122,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Price Performance

WU stock opened at $7.27 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $7.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.45. The Western Union Company has a 52-week low of $6.27 and a 52-week high of $10.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 0.47.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 50.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.37 EPS. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.350 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.9%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on WU. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Western Union from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Western Union from $8.50 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Western Union from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Western Union from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Western Union from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and eight have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus target price of $7.55.

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.