2,165 Shares in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Bought by MCF Advisors LLC

MCF Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,165 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $30,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Western Union by 10.5% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,498,861 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $151,555,000 after buying an additional 1,088,247 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 8,087,155 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $96,399,000 after purchasing an additional 160,735 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 27.9% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 7,460,960 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $88,935,000 after purchasing an additional 1,627,822 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 9.7% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 6,839,743 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $90,148,000 after purchasing an additional 605,620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,543,650 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $54,161,000 after purchasing an additional 721,331 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of WU stock traded up $0.22 on Friday, reaching $12.22. The company had a trading volume of 6,193,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,619,217. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a PE ratio of 7.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 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 Western Union Company has a one year low of $10.92 and a one year high of $14.19. The business’s 50-day moving average is $12.89 and its 200 day moving average is $12.83.

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

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.