Insight Folios Inc Takes Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Insight Folios Inc purchased a new stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 385,374 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,388,000. Western Union makes up approximately 2.2% of Insight Folios Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Insight Folios Inc owned about 0.11% of Western Union as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WU. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Union during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Western Union during the first quarter valued at $32,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Western Union during the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 1,092.6% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,462 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 5,004 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Western Union during the fourth quarter valued at $75,000. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Western Union Stock Performance

NYSE:WU traded down $0.06 on Thursday, hitting $12.25. The stock had a trading volume of 1,370,314 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,587,718. The stock has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.38. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.84. The Western Union Company has a 52-week low of $10.92 and a 52-week high of $14.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 120.76% and a net margin of 14.12%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.67%. Western Union’s payout ratio is currently 55.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on WU. Monness Crespi & Hardt began coverage on Western Union in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Western Union from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.61.

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.