Virtu Financial LLC Lowers Stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Virtu Financial LLC cut its holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 11.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 54,459 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 6,855 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $576,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Western Union by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 28,983,265 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $307,224,000 after acquiring an additional 4,426,126 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,206,431 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $118,788,000 after purchasing an additional 3,146,395 shares during the period. Brickwood Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Western Union in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,177,000. Meridiem Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union during the fourth quarter worth approximately $16,347,000. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 151.1% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 2,459,038 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,066,000 after purchasing an additional 1,479,751 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Union Stock Up 2.0%

WU opened at $8.49 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.22, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.61. The Western Union Company has a one year low of $7.89 and a one year high of $12.40. The business’s fifty day moving average is $8.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.61.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 66.11% and a net margin of 21.83%. Western Union’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $10.00 price target on shares of Western Union in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Western Union from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Barclays set a $8.00 target price on Western Union and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Western Union from $10.50 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.61.

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.