Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Decreases Stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board decreased its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 26.0% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 230,300 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 81,000 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Western Union were worth $2,814,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Western Union during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,925,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Western Union by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 57,957 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $691,000 after purchasing an additional 2,812 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Western Union by 19.8% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 841,034 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,057,000 after purchasing an additional 138,915 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Western Union by 134.1% in the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 132,229 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,576,000 after purchasing an additional 75,753 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Western Union during the 4th quarter worth about $446,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Stock Performance

WU opened at $12.18 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.21, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.65. 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 Western Union Company has a 52-week low of $10.92 and a 52-week high of $14.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.01). Western Union had a net margin of 13.64% and a return on equity of 123.71%. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.72%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Western Union’s payout ratio is 55.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WU. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on 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. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Union currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.14.

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.