Quantbot Technologies LP Acquires New Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 307,074 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,663,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WU. Quarry LP increased its position in Western Union by 52.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,588 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Western Union in the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Western Union by 89.3% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,226 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Western Union by 59.9% during the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 1,233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union in the third quarter worth about $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on WU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. 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. StockNews.com upgraded Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.86.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WU opened at $11.02 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of 5.65, a PEG ratio of 1.56 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. The Western Union Company has a 1-year low of $10.51 and a 1-year high of $14.19. The business’s 50 day moving average is $11.35 and its 200-day moving average is $11.98.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.02. Western Union had a net margin of 16.07% and a return on equity of 120.39%. The company 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 company posted $0.43 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 earnings per share 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.