1834 Investment Advisors Co. Acquires 88,769 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Key Points

• 1834 Investment Advisors Co. has increased its stake in The Western Union Company by 18.4%, owning a total of 571,876 shares valued at approximately $6.05 million.
• Western Union reported a net margin of 21.83% and earnings of $0.42 per share for the recent quarter, which was below analyst expectations.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.235, which translates to an annualized yield of 11.7%, with a payout ratio of 35.61%.

1834 Investment Advisors Co. boosted its stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 18.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 571,876 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 88,769 shares during the period. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. owned about 0.17% of Western Union worth $6,050,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WU. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its stake in Western Union by 1,487.6% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 3,080 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 2,886 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Western Union by 80.2% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,264 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Western Union by 464.3% in the first quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 3,397 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 2,795 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Western Union by 188.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,803 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Western Union by 267.5% in the fourth 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 last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $10.00 target price on shares of Western Union in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reduced their price objective on shares of Western Union from $7.50 to $7.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Western Union from $10.50 to $8.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Western Union from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $8.61.

Western Union Stock Performance

WU stock traded up $0.04 on Friday, reaching $8.04. 6,013,292 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,573,370. The Western Union Company has a 12 month low of $7.89 and a 12 month high of $12.40. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $8.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a PE ratio of 3.05, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.02). Western Union had a return on equity of 66.11% and a net margin of 21.83%. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. The company's revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.7%. Western Union's payout ratio is 35.61%.

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.