177,981 The Western Union Company $WU Shares Purchased by Fulcrum Asset Management LLP

Fulcrum Asset Management LLP boosted its position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 14,058.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 179,247 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 177,981 shares during the period. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP’s holdings in Western Union were worth $1,070,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WU. StoneX Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Western Union in the third quarter worth about $122,000. Arrow Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 54.1% during the 3rd quarter. Arrow Investment Advisors LLC now owns 45,222 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 15,879 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 33,414 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $197,000 after acquiring an additional 4,637 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in shares of Western Union by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 576,378 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,401,000 after acquiring an additional 38,928 shares during the period. Finally, Optimist Retirement Group LLC grew its position in shares of Western Union by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 290,795 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,716,000 after acquiring an additional 9,186 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Western Union

These are some of the WU stories that stood out recently:

• Neutral Sentiment: Ending the transaction avoids proceeding under California’s conditional approval requirements, which Western Union said were unacceptable and could affect its business model, agent relationships and long-term strategy. However, the company also loses the acquisition’s potential scale and growth benefits. Western Union termination announcement
• Negative Sentiment: California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation granted conditional approval, but the required conditions reportedly prompted the termination. The regulatory obstacle leaves WU without the planned acquisition and raises uncertainty about its ability to expand through this deal. Zacks article on the terminated deal
• Negative Sentiment: Intermex rejects WU’s termination notice, says it has met its obligations and is demanding that the merger proceed. It has reserved the right to seek specific performance and substantial damages, creating potential litigation costs and financial exposure for WU. Reuters report on Intermex’s response

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WU shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Western Union from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $8.00 price target (down from $9.00) on shares of Western Union in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Susquehanna reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $7.00 price target on shares of Western Union in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. New Street Research reissued a “reduce” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and seven have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Union currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $6.95.

Western Union Stock Down 3.2%

WU stock opened at $6.72 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $6.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.97. The Western Union Company has a 12 month low of $5.87 and a 12 month high of $10.35. The company has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.56.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 49.12% and a net margin of 8.32%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Profile

Western Union is a global payments company that provides cross-border, cross-currency money transfers and other financial services. Customers can send and receive money through the company’s digital platforms and its network of agent locations, as well as use services such as bill payments where available. The company also offers payment and foreign-exchange solutions to businesses and organizations. Its services reach customers in more than 200 countries and territories, combining online and mobile options with in-person access through local agents.