The Western Union Company $WU Position Boosted by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 28.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,922,728 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 426,939 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Western Union were worth $16,785,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Western Union by 76.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 57,621 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $503,000 after purchasing an additional 25,030 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Western Union by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 68,082 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $594,000 after buying an additional 5,712 shares in the last quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Western Union by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC now owns 46,387 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 6,244 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 44.8% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 657,225 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,738,000 after buying an additional 203,345 shares during the period. Finally, SummitTX Capital L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 86.7% during the 1st quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. now owns 480,458 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,194,000 after buying an additional 223,154 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WU has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Western Union from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Western Union from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $8.00 target price on shares of Western Union in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Barclays dropped their target price on Western Union from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Western Union from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and an average target price of $7.55.

Western Union Stock Performance

WU stock opened at $7.17 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $7.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.67. The Western Union Company has a 12 month low of $6.27 and a 12 month high of $10.35. The company has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.11). Western Union had a net margin of 9.79% and a return on equity of 50.89%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.37 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.350 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 16th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.42%.

Western Union Profile

Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments. The company enables individuals and businesses to send and receive money through a variety of channels, including its vast agent network, online platforms, and mobile applications. Core services include person-to-person money transfers, business-to-business cross-border payments, bill payment services and prepaid card programs.

Through its digital offerings, Western Union provides customers with the ability to initiate transfers via its website and mobile app, as well as track transactions in real time.