Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Has $2.45 Million Stock Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 21.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 205,562 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 35,680 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned approximately 0.06% of Western Union worth $2,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,926,192 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $154,209,000 after buying an additional 52,081 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 17.7% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 9,736,930 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $118,985,000 after acquiring an additional 1,462,853 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Western Union by 62.8% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,730,450 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $45,586,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439,310 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 52.0% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,337,466 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,784,000 after purchasing an additional 1,142,400 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in Western Union by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,880,800 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $22,438,000 after purchasing an additional 84,579 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of WU stock opened at $11.15 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The Western Union Company has a fifty-two week low of $10.51 and a fifty-two week high of $14.19. The company has a market cap of $3.76 billion, a PE ratio of 5.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $11.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.78.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.02. Western Union had a net margin of 16.07% and a return on equity of 120.39%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, December 13th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to buy 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 shares are undervalued.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 23rd. Western Union’s payout ratio is 48.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on WU shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Union currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.63.

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.