Elevated Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 6,107 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Elevated Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 14.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 49,801 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,107 shares during the period. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $609,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WU. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Western Union by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 279,331 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,330,000 after purchasing an additional 33,043 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Union during the fourth quarter worth $262,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 948,462 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,306,000 after acquiring an additional 11,720 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union during the 4th quarter valued at $300,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in Western Union during the 4th quarter worth $402,000. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on WU. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $13.00 target price on shares of Western Union in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Western Union from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Union presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.14.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of WU stock opened at $12.20 on Tuesday. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $12.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.81. The Western Union Company has a 12 month low of $10.92 and a 12 month high of $14.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a PE ratio of 7.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.85.

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

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.62%.

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.