Bridgewater Associates LP Acquires 88,498 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Bridgewater Associates LP increased its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 31.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 373,410 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 88,498 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Western Union were worth $4,455,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Comerica Bank raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 6.7% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 323,278 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,519,000 after buying an additional 20,184 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Union in the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union in the first quarter worth $458,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Western Union by 59.9% during the 1st quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,233 shares during the period. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Western Union during the 2nd quarter valued at $298,000. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WU. UBS Group cut their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Western Union from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.86.

Western Union Price Performance

Western Union stock opened at $11.01 on Friday. The Western Union Company has a 52-week low of $10.51 and a 52-week high of $14.19. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $11.31 and its 200 day moving average is $11.95. The company has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.65, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.87.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) 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 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.