Nomura Holdings Inc. Takes Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 44,822 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $475,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of Western Union by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 22,298 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 982 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 50,387 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $534,000 after acquiring an additional 1,072 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 14,233 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 1,493 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 61,606 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $653,000 after acquiring an additional 1,560 shares during the period. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 45,825 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $486,000 after acquiring an additional 1,565 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Western Union Trading Down 2.1%

WU stock opened at $9.68 on Thursday. The Western Union Company has a 1-year low of $9.00 and a 1-year high of $13.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.54, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.46.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $983.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 96.90% and a net margin of 22.19%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.72%. Western Union's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WU. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $10.50 price objective (down from $11.00) on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus 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.

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