Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Increases Stock Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 50.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 43,121 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,415 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 52.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,588 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in Western Union by 1.1% during 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 grew its holdings in Western Union by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 56,066 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $685,000 after acquiring an additional 979 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Western Union by 31.1% in 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. raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 4.2% in the 2nd 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Western Union Price Performance

NYSE WU opened at $10.70 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $11.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.21. The Western Union Company has a 52 week low of $10.63 and a 52 week high of $14.19. The stock has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

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.