Western Union Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:WU)

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders bought 3,812 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 105% compared to the average daily volume of 1,862 put options.

Western Union Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE WU traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $9.72. The stock had a trading volume of 5,921,550 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,859,908. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04. The business's fifty day moving average price is $10.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.59. The firm has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.69. Western Union has a 52-week low of $9.00 and a 52-week high of $13.60.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%. The company had revenue of $983.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Western Union will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Western Union's payout ratio is 35.07%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Union

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 28,983,265 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $307,224,000 after acquiring an additional 4,426,126 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 202.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,661,732 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $60,014,000 after purchasing an additional 3,792,683 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Western Union by 39.0% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,206,431 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $118,788,000 after buying an additional 3,146,395 shares during the last quarter. Brickwood Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in Western Union during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,177,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in Western Union by 32.1% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,021,308 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $95,626,000 after buying an additional 2,194,403 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WU has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $10.50 price target (down from $11.00) on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered 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 report on Thursday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Western Union presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $10.78.

Western Union Company 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.