Friedenthal Financial Takes Position in The Western Union Company $WU

Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 122,541 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,070,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WU. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in Western Union by 606.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 3,265 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 2,803 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in Western Union by 1,546.5% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 3,326 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 3,124 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Western Union by 67.0% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,331 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 1,336 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in Western Union by 179.6% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,341 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 2,146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 164.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,581 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 2,229 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Benjamin Carlton Adams sold 19,924 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.23, for a total transaction of $183,898.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 234,689 shares in the company, valued at $2,166,179.47. The trade was a 7.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Giovanni Angelini sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.47, for a total value of $56,820.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 311,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,947,935.24. The trade was a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 3.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings lowered Western Union from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $8.82.

Western Union Trading Up 3.1%

NYSE WU opened at $7.25 on Thursday. The Western Union Company has a one year low of $6.91 and a one year high of $10.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a PE ratio of 5.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.46.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.15). Western Union had a return on equity of 55.94% and a net margin of 10.88%.The business had revenue of $963.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.41 EPS. Western Union’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Union has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.750-1.850 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.0%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is 69.12%.

About Western Union

Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments. The company enables individuals and businesses to send and receive money through a variety of channels, including its vast agent network, online platforms, and mobile applications. Core services include person-to-person money transfers, business-to-business cross-border payments, bill payment services and prepaid card programs.

Through its digital offerings, Western Union provides customers with the ability to initiate transfers via its website and mobile app, as well as track transactions in real time.