Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Cuts Stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System cut its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 2.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,600 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,100 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Western Union were worth $1,117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Western Union by 52.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,588 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Western Union by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 80,813 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $979,000 after acquiring an additional 896 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management lifted its stake in Western Union by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 56,066 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $685,000 after purchasing an additional 979 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 31.1% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,316 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Union by 4.2% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 27,050 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 1,091 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Union Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE:WU opened at $10.74 on Friday. The Western Union Company has a 52 week low of $10.69 and a 52 week high of $14.19. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $11.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 120.39% and a net margin of 16.07%. Western Union’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on WU. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.86.

About Western Union

The Western Union Company provides money movement and payment services worldwide. The company operates through Consumer Money Transfer and Consumer Services segments. The Consumer Money Transfer segment facilitates money transfers for international cross-border and intra-country transfers, primarily through a network of retail agent locations, as well as through websites and mobile devices.