EntryPoint Capital LLC Invests $413,000 in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 38,965 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $413,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Western Union by 20.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,698,559 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $20,264,000 after acquiring an additional 283,479 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 523,676 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,247,000 after purchasing an additional 83,715 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Western Union in the 3rd quarter worth about $734,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Western Union by 50.6% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 122,956 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,303,000 after purchasing an additional 41,317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in 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 valued at $996,000 after purchasing an additional 83,835 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WU. Barclays decreased their target price on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Western Union currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.11.

Western Union Price Performance

NYSE:WU opened at $10.43 on Wednesday. The Western Union Company has a one year low of $10.04 and a one year high of $14.00. The stock has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a PE ratio of 3.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $10.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.96.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a return on equity of 96.90% and a net margin of 22.19%. Equities research analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.01%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.43%.

Western Union announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Friday, December 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.