Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 117,956 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its stake in The Western Union Company by 22.0%, selling 117,956 shares and now holds approximately 418,646 shares worth about $4.43 million.
• Western Union recently announced a $0.235 quarterly dividend with a yield of 11.7%, while the company's payout ratio stands at 35.61%.
• Analysts have mixed views on Western Union, with an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $8.61.

Federated Hermes Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 22.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 418,646 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 117,956 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Western Union worth $4,429,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of Western Union by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 22,298 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 982 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in Western Union by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 239,236 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,530,000 after acquiring an additional 1,085 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in Western Union by 0.7% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 186,822 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,947,000 after buying an additional 1,249 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 0.3% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 405,839 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,294,000 after purchasing an additional 1,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 62,824 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $665,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $10.00 target price on Western Union in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Western Union in a report on Monday, June 2nd. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Western Union in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $9.00 target price for the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut their target price on shares of Western Union from $7.50 to $7.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating 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 eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $8.61.

Western Union Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of WU stock traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $8.04. 8,261,242 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,233,184. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. The Western Union Company has a fifty-two week low of $7.89 and a fifty-two week high of $12.40. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.71. The firm has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.61.

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

Western Union Dividend Announcement

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