480,000 Shares in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Bought by Bank of Nova Scotia

Key Points

• The Bank of Nova Scotia has made a new investment of $5.08 million in The Western Union Company, acquiring 480,000 shares during the first quarter.
• Western Union's recent financial performance showed a quarterly earnings per share of $0.42, which missed expectations, alongside a 3.8% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.
• Institutional investors now own approximately 91.81% of Western Union's shares, reflecting significant confidence from funds such as McIlrath & Eck LLC and UMB Bank, which have dramatically increased their holdings.

Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 480,000 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,078,000. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 0.15% of Western Union at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in Western Union by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 59,804 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $634,000 after purchasing an additional 5,915 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Western Union by 69.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 111,978 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,187,000 after purchasing an additional 46,021 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,138,828 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $12,072,000 after acquiring an additional 35,532 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 92,977 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $986,000 after acquiring an additional 4,894 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 662.7% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,722 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 3,234 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WU shares. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Western Union from $13.00 to $9.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Western Union in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $9.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $10.00 price objective on Western Union in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Monness Crespi & Hardt decreased their price objective on Western Union from $7.50 to $7.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Western Union in a report on Monday, June 2nd. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $8.61.

Western Union Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE WU traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $8.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,013,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,573,370. The Western Union Company has a 52 week low of $7.89 and a 52 week high of $12.40. The company has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a PE ratio of 3.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $8.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.65.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.02). Western Union had a net margin of 21.83% and a return on equity of 66.11%. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. Western Union's revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.7%. Western Union's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.61%.

About Western Union

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.