SG Americas Securities LLC Raises Stock Position in The Western Union Company $WU

SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 11,759.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,954,045 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,886,978 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $74,052,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 48.5% during the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 13,240,037 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $111,481,000 after purchasing an additional 4,321,604 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in shares of Western Union by 821.1% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 4,170,343 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $35,114,000 after purchasing an additional 3,717,589 shares during the last quarter. Meridiem Capital Partners LP lifted its stake in Western Union by 190.7% in the 3rd quarter. Meridiem Capital Partners LP now owns 4,545,827 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $36,321,000 after buying an additional 2,982,044 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Western Union by 128.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,900,542 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,155,000 after buying an additional 2,754,827 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Western Union by 189.6% in the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 3,738,334 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $29,869,000 after buying an additional 2,447,525 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Western Union from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Western Union to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $8.82.

Western Union Stock Performance

NYSE:WU opened at $9.18 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.51. The Western Union Company has a twelve month low of $7.85 and a twelve month high of $10.67. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $9.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.00.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 20th. The credit services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.40 EPS. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.750-1.850 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.2%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is 61.84%.

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.