National Bank of Canada FI Buys 896 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 1.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 80,813 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 896 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Western Union were worth $979,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WU. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC lifted its position in Western Union by 45.5% during the 2nd quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 32,639 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $399,000 after acquiring an additional 10,200 shares during the period. Range Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 115,111 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,407,000 after purchasing an additional 6,837 shares in the last quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Union in the second quarter worth $235,000. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 14.0% in the second quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 49,801 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $609,000 after purchasing an additional 6,107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in Western Union by 18.2% during the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 12,298 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $150,000 after purchasing an additional 1,890 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Western Union Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Western Union stock opened at $11.85 on Friday. The Western Union Company has a 52-week low of $10.92 and a 52-week high of $14.19. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $12.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.98. The company has a market cap of $4.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.01, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.86.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 13.64% and a return on equity of 123.71%. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.93%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.