Aquatic Capital Management LLC Buys 227,423 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 232,671 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 227,423 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Western Union worth $2,466,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Western Union during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky bought a new position in Western Union in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in Western Union by 662.7% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,722 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 3,234 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 267.5% during the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 3,833 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 2,790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in Western Union by 1,734.7% in the fourth 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. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $10.50 target price (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, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $10.78.

Western Union Stock Performance

WU stock traded up $0.06 on Friday, hitting $9.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,921,550 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,850,785. 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 market cap of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $10.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.62. The Western Union Company has a 1 year low of $9.00 and a 1 year high of $13.60.

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

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.67%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Western Union's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.