AlphaQuest LLC Has $142,000 Stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

AlphaQuest LLC lowered its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 77.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 13,365 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 45,473 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WU. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Western Union by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,305,933 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $66,843,000 after acquiring an additional 1,857,012 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Western Union during the third quarter worth about $11,726,000. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new position in Western Union during the third quarter worth about $8,124,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Western Union by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,489,079 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $132,384,000 after purchasing an additional 549,931 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Western Union during the third quarter worth about $3,663,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on WU. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays reduced their price target on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.11.

Western Union Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE WU opened at $10.66 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04. The Western Union Company has a 1-year low of $10.04 and a 1-year high of $14.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $10.60 and a 200-day moving average of $11.03. The company has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.90, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Western Union announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, December 13th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.82%. Western Union’s payout ratio is 34.43%.

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.