Holocene Advisors LP Purchases 239,367 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Holocene Advisors LP increased its position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 79.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 541,626 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 239,367 shares during the quarter. Holocene Advisors LP owned 0.16% of Western Union worth $6,462,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Union in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Quarry LP boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 895 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position 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 period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Western Union by 31.1% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,316 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Western Union in the third quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Western Union from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group cut their target price on Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $12.86.

Western Union Stock Down 1.3 %

WU traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $10.75. 3,986,451 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,089,255. The stock has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.51, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The stock's 50-day moving average is $11.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.89. The Western Union Company has a 1-year low of $10.51 and a 1-year 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 16.07% and a return on equity of 120.39%. The firm's revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Company 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.