Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU – Get Rating) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,600,084 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,975 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.41% of Western Union worth $22,033,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Western Union by 7,000.0% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 2,170 shares during the period. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Western Union by 157.6% in the fourth quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,540 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,554 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Western Union by 38.5% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,165 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 879 shares in the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Western Union in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Ellevest Inc. grew its position in Western Union by 172.9% in the third quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 5,273 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 3,341 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.66% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WU opened at $12.22 on Friday. The Western Union Company has a fifty-two week low of $10.07 and a fifty-two week high of $18.23. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.45. The stock has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.11 and a beta of 0.85.

Western Union (NYSE:WU – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 2nd. The credit services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.09. Western Union had a net margin of 17.65% and a return on equity of 128.52%. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $997.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.61 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 16th 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 7.69%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 15th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of Western Union from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 20th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Western Union from $12.50 to $11.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 13th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Western Union from $15.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.70.

About Western Union

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The Western Union Co is a holding company, which engages in the provision of money transfer and payment services. It operates through the following segments: Consumer-to-Consumer, Business Solutions, and Other. The Consumer-to-Consumer segment facilitates money transfers between two consumers. The Business Solutions segment offers payment and foreign exchange solutions, cross-border, and cross-currency transactions for small and medium size enterprises and other organizations and individuals.