Two Sigma Investments LP Lowers Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Two Sigma Investments LP cut its stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,484,206 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 117,652 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP owned about 0.44% of Western Union worth $15,733,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WU. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Western Union by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 68,237 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $723,000 after acquiring an additional 6,727 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Western Union by 50.6% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 122,956 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,303,000 after purchasing an additional 41,317 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union during the 4th quarter valued at $705,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Western Union by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 480,543 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $5,094,000 after purchasing an additional 76,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 145.1% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 72,795 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 43,095 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WU has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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 report on Thursday, April 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered shares of Western Union from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $7.50 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $10.50 price objective (down from $11.00) on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $10.78.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of WU stock opened at $9.65 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $10.01 and its 200 day moving average is $10.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.53, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.72. The Western Union Company has a 12 month low of $9.00 and a 12 month high of $13.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04.

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

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.74%. Western Union's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.07%.

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.

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