The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Stake Lifted by Ieq Capital LLC

Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 603.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 314,892 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 270,111 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $3,338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WU. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $8,124,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Western Union by 293.3% in the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 198,002 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,362,000 after buying an additional 147,658 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Western Union by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,698,559 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $20,264,000 after buying an additional 283,479 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in Western Union by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 523,676 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,247,000 after buying an additional 83,715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Western Union in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $734,000. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WU has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped 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 research note on Monday, December 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.11.

Western Union Price Performance

NYSE:WU opened at $10.63 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $10.54 and a 200-day moving average of $11.14. The company has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.89, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.85. The Western Union Company has a 52 week low of $10.04 and a 52 week high of $14.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.20.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, December 13th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.