Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Has $52,000 Stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 1,734.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,862 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,597 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Western Union were worth $52,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Western Union by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 50,387 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $534,000 after buying an additional 1,072 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in Western Union by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 238,876 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,849,000 after acquiring an additional 1,205 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 88,410 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,055,000 after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Western Union by 12.9% during the third quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 13,177 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Union by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 61,606 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $653,000 after purchasing an additional 1,560 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WU has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.11.

Western Union Stock Performance

NYSE:WU opened at $10.38 on Friday. The Western Union Company has a 52-week low of $10.04 and a 52-week high of $14.19. The business’s fifty day moving average is $10.57 and its 200 day moving average is $11.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.80, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.85.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%. Research analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.8 EPS for the current year.

Western Union announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, December 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s payout ratio is 34.43%.

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.