Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Raises Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 183.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,632 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 29,523 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Western Union were worth $484,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 20.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,698,559 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $20,264,000 after purchasing an additional 283,479 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Western Union by 10.9% during the 4th 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 period. Kestra Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 41,317 shares during the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 828.1% in the fourth quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 93,959 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $996,000 after acquiring an additional 83,835 shares during the period. Finally, Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union in the fourth quarter worth $922,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on WU. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $10.50 target price (down from $11.00) on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut Western Union from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $7.50 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating 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 given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $10.78.

Western Union Trading Up 1.3 %

Western Union stock traded up $0.13 during trading on Monday, reaching $9.85. 760,501 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,844,668. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $10.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.58. The company has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.61, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The Western Union Company has a 52-week low of $9.00 and a 52-week high of $13.60.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.01. Western Union had a net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%. The firm had revenue of $983.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. Western Union's quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Western Union's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.