HighTower Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 27.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 33,857 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 12,613 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 52.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,588 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 895 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,522 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Union by 31.1% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,316 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 1,024 shares during the period. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new position in Western Union during the 3rd quarter worth about $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Stock Performance

NYSE:WU opened at $10.71 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a PE ratio of 5.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $11.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.73. The Western Union Company has a 12 month low of $10.51 and a 12 month high of $14.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 120.39% and a net margin of 16.07%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union announced that its board has approved a share buyback 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 usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 23rd. Western Union’s payout ratio is 48.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on WU. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.63.

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.