Aquatic Capital Management LLC Grows Holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 4,333.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 232,671 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 227,423 shares during the quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC owned about 0.07% of Western Union worth $2,466,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WU. Oxford Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in Western Union during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Boothbay Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in Western Union during the 4th quarter worth about $185,000. Arnhold LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,873,000. Three Seasons Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 4th quarter valued at about $496,000. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC raised its stake in Western Union by 267.5% in the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 3,833 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 2,790 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on WU shares. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $10.50 price objective (down from $11.00) on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $10.78.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of WU stock traded up $0.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $9.72. 5,921,550 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,859,908. The firm's 50-day moving average is $10.32 and its 200 day moving average is $10.58. The Western Union Company has a 1 year low of $9.00 and a 1 year high of $13.60. The company has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.56, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.01. Western Union had a return on equity of 96.90% and a net margin of 22.19%. The business had revenue of $983.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Western Union's payout ratio is 35.07%.

Western Union Company 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.