D.A. Davidson & CO. Buys 1,565 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,825 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,565 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Western Union were worth $486,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Union during the third quarter worth about $11,726,000. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Union during the third quarter worth about $8,124,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Western Union during the third quarter worth about $3,663,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Western Union by 20.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,698,559 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $20,264,000 after purchasing an additional 283,479 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Union by 1,735.9% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 275,227 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,283,000 after purchasing an additional 260,236 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of WU stock opened at $10.91 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.20. The Western Union Company has a fifty-two week low of $10.04 and a fifty-two week high of $14.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $10.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.13. The company has a market capitalization of $3.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.99, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.85.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%. Analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. 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 8.62%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.43%.

Western Union declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, December 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Three 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, the company has a consensus 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.