Morningstar Investment Management LLC Purchases New Shares in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Morningstar Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 15,344 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $163,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WU. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new position in Western Union during the third quarter valued at $8,124,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 293.3% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 198,002 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,362,000 after acquiring an additional 147,658 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Western Union by 20.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,698,559 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $20,264,000 after purchasing an additional 283,479 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Western Union in the 3rd quarter valued at $734,000. 91.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Union Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WU opened at $10.81 on Thursday. The Western Union Company has a 1-year low of $10.04 and a 1-year high of $14.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $10.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.15.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.8 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.70%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s payout ratio is currently 34.43%.

Western Union declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase 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 repurchase up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WU. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.11.

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.