WBI Investments LLC Has $910,000 Stock Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

WBI Investments LLC grew its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 52.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,843 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 29,356 shares during the period. WBI Investments LLC's holdings in Western Union were worth $910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WU. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in Western Union by 68.7% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 894,000 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $9,476,000 after acquiring an additional 364,200 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 105,167 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,115,000 after purchasing an additional 16,757 shares during the period. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Western Union in the fourth quarter valued at about $161,000. Toronto Dominion Bank acquired a new position in shares of Western Union during the fourth quarter worth about $738,000. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 375.9% during the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 57,324 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $608,000 after buying an additional 45,278 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Western Union Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of WU stock opened at $9.88 on Tuesday. The Western Union Company has a 52-week low of $9.00 and a 52-week high of $13.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.62, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.72. The firm's 50-day moving average is $10.06 and its 200-day moving average is $10.47.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.51%. Western Union's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WU has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut 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. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $10.50 target price (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $10.78.

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.

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