Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC Has $46,000 Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 59.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,292 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,233 shares during the quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $46,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Invst LLC bought a new stake in Western Union in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,539,000. Burney Co. lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 168.5% in the first quarter. Burney Co. now owns 460,829 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,442,000 after buying an additional 289,173 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Western Union during the first quarter valued at about $458,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Western Union during the first quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Bluefin Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Western Union during the first quarter worth about $155,000. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WU has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Western Union in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Western Union from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.43.

Western Union Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE WU traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $11.52. 5,749,393 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,383,693. The company’s 50-day moving average is $12.47 and its 200-day moving average is $12.91. The Western Union Company has a 52-week low of $10.92 and a 52-week high of $14.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.82, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.98, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 123.71% and a net margin of 13.64%. Western Union’s revenue was down 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. Analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.16%. Western Union’s payout ratio is 55.62%.

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.