Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Buys New Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,375,000 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $14,548,000. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. owned approximately 0.41% of Western Union at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WU. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in shares of Western Union by 1,487.6% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 3,080 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 2,886 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Western Union by 80.2% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,264 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in Western Union by 662.7% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,722 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 3,234 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Western Union by 188.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,803 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 2,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC raised its stake in Western Union by 267.5% during the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 3,833 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 2,790 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WU has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $10.50 price objective (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of 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. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Western Union in a report on Monday, June 2nd. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $10.78.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WU traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $8.69. The stock had a trading volume of 11,165,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,535,507. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $9.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.24, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. The Western Union Company has a 1-year low of $8.30 and a 1-year high of $13.12.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.01. Western Union had a return on equity of 77.19% and a net margin of 22.08%. The company had revenue of $983.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Western Union's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.07%.

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.