Quantbot Technologies LP Takes $3.66 Million Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 307,074 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,663,000. Quantbot Technologies LP owned approximately 0.09% of Western Union at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WU. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Western Union by 52.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,588 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union during the first quarter valued at about $39,000. 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 valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 59.9% in the 1st quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union during the third quarter worth about $60,000. 91.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WU has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Western Union from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $12.86.

Western Union Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Western Union stock traded down $0.08 on Thursday, reaching $11.02. 3,498,826 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,414,747. The Western Union Company has a 1-year low of $10.51 and a 1-year high of $14.19. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $11.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.87.

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