California Public Employees Retirement System Buys 102,823 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,768,627 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 102,823 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.52% of Western Union worth $18,747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WU. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 50,387 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $534,000 after acquiring an additional 1,072 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in Western Union by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 88,410 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,560 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in Western Union by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 45,825 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $486,000 after buying an additional 1,565 shares during the period. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 6.8% during the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 27,044 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 1,727 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WU. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of 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 reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.11.

Western Union Stock Down 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE:WU opened at $10.13 on Friday. 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 Western Union Company has a 52-week low of $9.92 and a 52-week high of $13.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $10.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.90.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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, equities research analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is 34.43%.

Western Union declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, December 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership 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.