Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Sells 59,990 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. trimmed its holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 65.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 31,307 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 59,990 shares during the quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Western Union were worth $373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Western Union during the first quarter worth $30,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Western Union by 52.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,588 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Union during the first quarter valued at about $37,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Western Union by 89.3% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,226 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Western Union by 59.9% in the 1st quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,233 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WU opened at $11.17 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $11.86 and a 200-day moving average of $12.38. The stock has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a PE ratio of 6.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.98, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The Western Union Company has a fifty-two week low of $10.92 and a fifty-two week high of $14.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.02. Western Union had a return on equity of 123.71% and a net margin of 13.64%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WU has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their target price 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. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $13.00 price objective on shares of Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Western Union from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Three investment 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.

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.