Jones Financial Companies Lllp Boosts Stock Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 171.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,777 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,229 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Western Union were worth $188,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Union in the third quarter valued at $25,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Western Union during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky purchased a new position in Western Union during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in Western Union by 1,734.7% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 4,862 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 4,597 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Western Union during the fourth quarter worth $53,000. 91.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on WU. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of 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 decreased their target price on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.11.

Western Union Stock Performance

WU stock opened at $10.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $10.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.05. The company has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.92, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.79. The Western Union Company has a 1-year low of $10.04 and a 1-year high of $14.00.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.79%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.43%.

Western Union declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board 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.