Western Union Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:WU)

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors purchased 3,812 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 105% compared to the average daily volume of 1,862 put options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Union

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WU. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Western Union during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky bought a new stake in Western Union during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in Western Union by 1,487.6% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 3,080 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 2,886 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 80.2% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,264 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its position in Western Union by 662.7% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,722 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 3,234 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WU shares. Susquehanna cut their target price on Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $10.50 price target (down from $11.00) on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered Western Union from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $7.50 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.78.

Western Union Stock Performance

NYSE:WU traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $10.16. The stock had a trading volume of 6,685,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,777,611. 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 has a 52 week low of $9.00 and a 52 week high of $13.60. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.69.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $983.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. Western Union's revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Western Union will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.25%. Western Union's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.07%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.