Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $12.65 Million Stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 4.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,034,943 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,739 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.31% of Western Union worth $12,647,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Union in the fourth quarter worth $402,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Western Union in the 4th quarter valued at about $75,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Western Union by 189.2% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 772,015 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,202,000 after buying an additional 505,094 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,543,650 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $54,161,000 after acquiring an additional 721,331 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 32,277 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $385,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on WU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $13.00 target price on shares of Western Union in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.14.

Western Union Stock Performance

Western Union stock opened at $11.86 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $12.08 and a 200-day moving average of $12.76. The company has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.86. The Western Union Company has a 1 year low of $10.92 and a 1 year high of $14.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.98, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

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

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.93%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Western Union’s payout ratio is presently 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.