Bridgewater Associates LP Raises Stock Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Bridgewater Associates LP increased its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 31.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 373,410 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 88,498 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP owned 0.11% of Western Union worth $4,455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WU. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Western Union by 30.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 348,850 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,263,000 after purchasing an additional 82,018 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Union during the third quarter valued at about $8,124,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Western Union by 293.3% during the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 198,002 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,362,000 after acquiring an additional 147,658 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its holdings in shares of Western Union by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 704,054 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $8,399,000 after acquiring an additional 74,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in Western Union in the 3rd quarter valued at about $957,000. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Union Price Performance

WU opened at $11.01 on Friday. The Western Union Company has a fifty-two week low of $10.51 and a fifty-two week high of $14.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $11.31 and a 200 day moving average of $11.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.65, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.87.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. The company's revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WU has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective 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. UBS Group lowered their price target on 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 raised shares of Western Union from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $12.86.

About Western Union

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.