The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Shares Sold by Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lessened its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 25.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,318 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,848 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in Western Union were worth $65,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WU. Range Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 6.3% in the second quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 115,111 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,407,000 after purchasing an additional 6,837 shares during the period. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union in the second quarter valued at about $235,000. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 14.0% in the second quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 49,801 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $609,000 after purchasing an additional 6,107 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 18.2% in the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 12,298 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $150,000 after purchasing an additional 1,890 shares during the period. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Western Union by 37.7% during the second quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 49,538 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $605,000 after acquiring an additional 13,570 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WU shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Western Union in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.14.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WU opened at $12.07 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.08 billion, a PE ratio of 7.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.86. The Western Union Company has a 12 month low of $10.92 and a 12 month high of $14.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.98, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.80.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.01). Western Union had a net margin of 13.64% and a return on equity of 123.71%. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. Western Union’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.79%. Western Union’s payout ratio is 55.62%.

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.