CWA Asset Management Group LLC Raises Stock Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund 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.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Western Union in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 52.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Western Union by 89.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,522 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Western Union in the 3rd quarter worth $60,000. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WU shares. Barclays reduced their target price 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 lowered 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. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Union presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.63.

Western Union Price Performance

Western Union stock opened at $10.44 on Wednesday. The Western Union Company has a 12-month low of $10.37 and a 12-month high of $14.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $10.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of 5.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.85.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.02. Western Union had a return on equity of 120.39% and a net margin of 16.07%. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

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

Western Union announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, December 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.