The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Shares Purchased by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 19.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 480,543 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 76,900 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.14% of Western Union worth $5,094,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Western Union during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new stake in Western Union in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in Western Union by 1,734.7% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 4,862 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 4,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WU has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price 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. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.11.

Western Union Stock Up 3.2 %

Western Union stock opened at $10.84 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.97, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $10.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.15. The Western Union Company has a twelve month low of $10.04 and a twelve month high of $14.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%. As a group, research analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.67%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.43%.

Western Union declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.