The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Shares Sold by DGS Capital Management LLC

DGS Capital Management LLC cut its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 9.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,134 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,723 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $365,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Western Union in the fourth quarter valued at about $300,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 841,034 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,057,000 after purchasing an additional 138,915 shares in the last quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 24.2% during the 1st quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 559,248 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,818,000 after purchasing an additional 109,014 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 287.4% during the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 543,957 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,484,000 after purchasing an additional 403,540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,299,090 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $30,302,000 after purchasing an additional 244,286 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt assumed coverage on shares of Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.61.

Western Union Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE WU opened at $12.01 on Friday. The Western Union Company has a 1 year low of $10.92 and a 1 year high of $14.19. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $12.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.83. The firm has a market cap of $4.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.38, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 14.12% and a return on equity of 120.76%. Western Union’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.83%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.