Western Union (NYSE:WU) Shares Gap Up Following Dividend Announcement

Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) gapped up prior to trading on Monday after the company announced a dividend. The stock had previously closed at $10.76, but opened at $11.08. Western Union shares last traded at $11.16, with a volume of 1,040,956 shares trading hands.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.40%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WU. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of 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, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.63.

Western Union Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a PE ratio of 5.74, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.79.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 16.07% and a return on equity of 120.39%. Western Union’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, December 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Western Union

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WU. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Union in the 2nd quarter valued at $290,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 22.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,706 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 5,241 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 27,050 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 1,091 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 81,190 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $992,000 after purchasing an additional 5,030 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 56,066 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $685,000 after purchasing an additional 979 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.