LSV Asset Management Reduces Stock Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Key Points

• LSV Asset Management reduced its stake in The Western Union Company by 0.8%, holding approximately 10.16 million shares valued at $107.5 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• The company's most recent earnings report indicated an EPS of $0.42, falling short of the $0.44 consensus estimate, with a quarterly revenue of $1.03 billion, down 3.8% year-over-year.
• Western Union announced a quarterly dividend of $0.235 per share, representing an annual yield of 11.9%, with a dividend payout ratio of 35.61%.

LSV Asset Management lowered its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,161,708 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 76,865 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned about 3.07% of Western Union worth $107,511,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WU. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Western Union by 168.2% during the 1st quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 36,323 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 22,779 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp raised its stake in Western Union by 634.0% during the 1st quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 151,200 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,600,000 after purchasing an additional 130,600 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Western Union during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Western Union during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $262,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in Western Union by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 186,654 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,975,000 after purchasing an additional 15,449 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays set a $8.00 target price on Western Union and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Susquehanna cut their price target on Western Union from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Western Union from $13.00 to $9.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $8.61.

Western Union Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Western Union stock traded up $0.02 on Tuesday, reaching $8.05. The company had a trading volume of 1,119,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,222,523. The firm has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 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. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $8.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.71. The Western Union Company has a 1 year low of $7.89 and a 1 year high of $12.40.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 66.11% and a net margin of 21.83%. Western Union's revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.7%. 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.