Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Grows Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 47.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 122,813 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 39,382 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Western Union were worth $1,299,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in Western Union by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 22,298 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 982 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Western Union by 2.3% during the first quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 62,824 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $665,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Western Union by 80.2% in the 1st 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. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in Western Union by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 14,233 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 1,493 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 188.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,803 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,483 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WU has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced 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, Oppenheimer started coverage on Western Union in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.78.

Western Union Trading Down 1.3%

WU stock traded down $0.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $8.62. The company had a trading volume of 4,714,256 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,571,298. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The Western Union Company has a 52 week low of $8.29 and a 52 week high of $13.12. The business has a 50 day moving average of $9.28 and a 200 day moving average of $10.05. The company has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.22, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.65.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $983.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.01 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 77.19% and a net margin of 22.08%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.90%. Western Union's payout ratio is 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.