The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Short Interest Up 22.4% in January

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 27,070,000 shares, a growth of 22.4% from the January 15th total of 22,120,000 shares. Approximately 8.1% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,250,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.2 days.

Western Union Trading Up 1.5 %

Western Union stock opened at $10.52 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.85. Western Union has a 52 week low of $10.04 and a 52 week high of $14.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $10.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.16. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 96.90% and a net margin of 22.19%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Union will post 1.8 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.43%.

Western Union declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, December 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding 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 often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Union

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC increased its stake in Western Union by 33.4% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 26,148 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 6,554 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in Western Union by 25.7% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 60,046 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $716,000 after purchasing an additional 12,283 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Western Union in the third quarter valued at approximately $274,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 971.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 13,876 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 12,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Western Union during the third quarter worth about $6,190,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WU. StockNews.com raised shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays dropped their target price on 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 shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.11.

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.