Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Raises Stock Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 35.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 229,360 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 59,777 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Western Union worth $2,427,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WU. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 32,761 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $341,000 after buying an additional 4,752 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 45,825 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $486,000 after buying an additional 1,565 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 149,688 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,587,000 after buying an additional 13,333 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 26.4% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 20,205 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 4,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 41.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,305,933 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $66,843,000 after buying an additional 1,857,012 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Union Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:WU traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $8.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,595,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,496,027. The Western Union Company has a 52 week low of $8.32 and a 52 week high of $13.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.68. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $9.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.11.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.01. Western Union had a net margin of 22.08% and a return on equity of 77.19%. The business had revenue of $983.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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 will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.22%. Western Union's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WU shares. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $10.50 target price (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Western Union in a report on Monday, June 2nd. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.78.

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.