CWA Asset Management Group LLC Grows Holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 87,929 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,738 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $932,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 20.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,698,559 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $20,264,000 after acquiring an additional 283,479 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Western Union by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 27,044 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 1,727 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Western Union by 8.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,103,296 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $13,061,000 after buying an additional 81,343 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 1.4% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 88,410 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,055,000 after buying an additional 1,230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union during the third quarter valued at approximately $310,000. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Price Performance

NYSE WU opened at $10.44 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.35, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $10.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.57. The Western Union Company has a 52 week low of $10.37 and a 52 week high of $14.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 16.07% and a return on equity of 120.39%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. Equities research 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 share repurchase program on Friday, December 13th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.00%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays lowered their price target on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.63.

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.