Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Makes New Investment in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 21,984 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $262,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Union during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Western Union during the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 1,092.6% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,462 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 5,004 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Union during the third quarter valued at $83,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 23.2% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 6,793 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Western Union from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Western Union from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Western Union from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Union currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.61.

Western Union Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of WU opened at $13.37 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $13.50 and its 200 day moving average is $12.62. The company has a market capitalization of $4.52 billion, a PE ratio of 7.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.84. The Western Union Company has a 12-month low of $10.92 and a 12-month high of $14.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.38.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 120.76% and a net margin of 14.12%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. Research analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Western Union

In other news, Director Timothy P. Murphy acquired 10,000 shares of Western Union stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $12.85 per share, with a total value of $128,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 56,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $722,234.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Western Union Company 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.