Foundry Partners LLC Purchases New Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 681,002 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,124,000. Foundry Partners LLC owned approximately 0.20% of Western Union at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 52.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,588 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Western Union by 1.1% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 80,813 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $979,000 after purchasing an additional 896 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Western Union by 1.8% during the second quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 56,066 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $685,000 after purchasing an additional 979 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Western Union by 31.1% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,316 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 27,050 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 1,091 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WU opened at $10.73 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.87. The firm's fifty day moving average is $11.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.06. 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 Western Union Company has a 52-week low of $10.51 and a 52-week high of $14.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.02. Western Union had a return on equity of 120.39% and a net margin of 16.07%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on WU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Western Union from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Union from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group reduced 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. Three 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.

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