Alberta Investment Management Corp Acquires 130,600 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Key Points

• Alberta Investment Management Corp significantly increased its stake in The Western Union Company by 634%, acquiring an additional 130,600 shares, bringing its total ownership to 151,200 shares valued at approximately $1.6 million.
• Western Union's recent quarterly earnings report showed a net income miss, with earnings per share of $0.42 against analyst expectations of $0.44, and a 3.8% decrease in revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company maintains a healthy dividend yield of 11.7% after announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.235 per share, with a payout ratio of 35.61%.

Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 634.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 151,200 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 130,600 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp's holdings in Western Union were worth $1,600,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Natixis Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Union during the first quarter valued at about $225,000. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Western Union during the first quarter valued at about $262,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Western Union by 9.0% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 186,654 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,975,000 after buying an additional 15,449 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Western Union by 43.3% during the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 122,542 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,296,000 after buying an additional 37,042 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Western Union by 10.0% during the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 82,923 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $877,000 after buying an additional 7,557 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WU shares. Barclays set a $8.00 price objective on shares of Western Union and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Western Union in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Susquehanna restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $9.00 price objective (down from $11.00) on shares of Western Union in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $8.61.

Western Union Price Performance

WU traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $8.04. The stock had a trading volume of 8,261,242 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,233,184. The company has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a fifty day moving average of $8.66 and a 200 day moving average of $9.71. 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 1 year low of $7.89 and a 1 year high of $12.40.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The credit services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 21.83% and a return on equity of 66.11%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 11.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Western Union's dividend payout ratio is 35.61%.

Western Union 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.