William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. Buys Shares of 15,533 The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 15,533 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $190,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Western Union in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Western Union in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Western Union in the first quarter valued at about $37,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Western Union by 89.3% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,226 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,233 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $13.00 price target on shares of Western Union in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.14.

Western Union Stock Performance

Western Union stock opened at $12.16 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a PE ratio of 7.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.86. The Western Union Company has a 1-year low of $10.92 and a 1-year high of $14.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 123.71% and a net margin of 13.64%. The business’s revenue was down 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Western Union’s payout ratio is 55.62%.

About Western Union

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.