B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Grows Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,655 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,280 shares during the quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Western Union were worth $252,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP lifted its position in Western Union by 52.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,588 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 113,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,381,000 after acquiring an additional 1,544 shares during the period. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Western Union during the 2nd quarter worth $190,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Western Union by 89.3% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,226 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares during the period. Finally, Scientech Research LLC acquired a new position in Western Union in the second quarter valued at $449,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of WU opened at $11.60 on Wednesday. The Western Union Company has a 1 year low of $10.92 and a 1 year high of $14.19. The company has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.86, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.98, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.01). Western Union had a return on equity of 123.71% and a net margin of 13.64%. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s revenue 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 year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.10%. Western Union’s payout ratio is 55.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WU shares. StockNews.com raised Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price target on shares of Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight 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 $13.14.

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.