The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Stock Position Raised by Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 149,688 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,333 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Western Union were worth $1,587,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WU. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $11,726,000. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $8,124,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,663,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Western Union by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,698,559 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $20,264,000 after acquiring an additional 283,479 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Union by 603.2% in the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 314,892 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,338,000 after acquiring an additional 270,111 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of WU opened at $10.91 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $10.52 and its 200-day moving average is $11.13. The Western Union Company has a 12 month low of $10.04 and a 12 month high of $14.19. The firm has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, December 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.62%. Western Union’s payout ratio is presently 34.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.