Royce & Associates LP Takes Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Royce & Associates LP bought a new stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 11,106 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $132,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WU. CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Western Union in the third quarter worth about $120,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in Western Union by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 13,177 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its position in Western Union by 185.3% during the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 36,295 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 23,574 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its stake in Western Union by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 165,990 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,980,000 after purchasing an additional 23,746 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 4.7% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 480,146 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,728,000 after purchasing an additional 21,500 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Union Trading Down 0.2 %

Western Union stock opened at $10.73 on Thursday. The Western Union Company has a one year low of $10.51 and a one year high of $14.19. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $11.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.06. The company has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.50, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WU has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.86.

Western Union Profile

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.