Legal & General Group Plc Acquires Shares of 818,489 The Western Union Company $WU

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 818,489 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,302,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WU. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in Western Union during the second quarter valued at $632,000. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Western Union in the second quarter worth approximately $364,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Western Union during the second quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Western Union in the second quarter worth approximately $11,248,000. Finally, Evolve Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Union during the 2nd quarter worth $176,000. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Union Stock Performance

NYSE:WU opened at $7.30 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $7.61 and its 200-day moving average is $8.35. The company has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.94 and a beta of 0.50. 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 Western Union Company has a 52-week low of $6.27 and a 52-week high of $10.35.

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

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 16th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WU shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Western Union from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Citigroup cut their price objective on Western Union from $8.50 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Western Union from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Western Union from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and eight have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and an average 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.