Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 19,264 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $235,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Western Union by 7,569.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,905,891 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $194,405,000 after acquiring an additional 13,724,584 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 2.3% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 8,274,077 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $115,672,000 after purchasing an additional 186,922 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in Western Union by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 7,460,960 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $88,935,000 after buying an additional 1,627,822 shares in the last quarter. Discerene Group LP boosted its stake in Western Union by 11.9% during the first quarter. Discerene Group LP now owns 6,682,192 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $93,417,000 after buying an additional 710,873 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,543,650 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $54,161,000 after buying an additional 721,331 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Union Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:WU opened at $12.22 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.98, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $12.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.80. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 13.64% and a return on equity of 123.71%. The company’s revenue was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.69%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is 55.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WU has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Western Union in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com raised Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Western Union from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.14.

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.