The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Shares Purchased by Nisa Investment Advisors LLC

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 81,190 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,030 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $992,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Western Union by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 44,100 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $526,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 32,277 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $385,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 59.9% in the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,233 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Western Union by 14.2% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 11,751 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Western Union by 1.6% during the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 112,237 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,569,000 after buying an additional 1,793 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on WU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. StockNews.com downgraded Western Union from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $13.00 price target on shares of Western Union in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Western Union from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.14.

Western Union Price Performance

NYSE WU opened at $11.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.98, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.83. The Western Union Company has a 52-week low of $10.92 and a 52-week high of $14.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.01). Western Union had a return on equity of 123.71% and a net margin of 13.64%. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.05%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Western Union’s payout ratio is currently 55.62%.

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.