Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Has $52,000 Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 1,734.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,862 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,597 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Western Union were worth $52,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 50,387 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $534,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in Western Union by 0.5% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 238,876 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,849,000 after acquiring an additional 1,205 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in Western Union by 1.4% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 88,410 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,055,000 after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in Western Union by 12.9% during the third quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 13,177 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 61,606 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $653,000 after acquiring an additional 1,560 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of Western Union stock opened at $10.38 on Friday. The Western Union Company has a 1-year low of $10.04 and a 1-year high of $14.19. 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $10.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.20. The company has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.80, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.85.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.8 EPS for the current year.

Western Union announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, December 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s payout ratio is 34.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WU has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.11.

About Western Union

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.