JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 20.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,698,559 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 283,479 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.50% of Western Union worth $20,264,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 62.8% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,730,450 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $45,586,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439,310 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 52.0% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,337,466 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,784,000 after buying an additional 1,142,400 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Union during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $11,726,000. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Western Union in the 3rd quarter worth $8,124,000. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its position in Western Union by 751.7% during the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 722,532 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,829,000 after acquiring an additional 637,702 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Western Union stock opened at $10.44 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $10.78 and a 200 day moving average of $11.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.35, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.85. The Western Union Company has a fifty-two week low of $10.26 and a fifty-two week high of $14.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.02. Western Union had a return on equity of 120.39% and a net margin of 16.07%. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd were issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.00%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.21%.

Western Union announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, December 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WU shares. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Union has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.63.

About Western Union

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.