Farther Finance Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 84.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,534 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,890 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $343,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WU. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Western Union by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 480,543 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,094,000 after acquiring an additional 76,900 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Western Union by 782.7% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 10,010 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 8,876 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its holdings in Western Union by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 195,271 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,070,000 after purchasing an additional 29,281 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Western Union by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 32,761 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $341,000 after buying an additional 4,752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 45,825 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $486,000 after buying an additional 1,565 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Union Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of NYSE WU opened at $8.43 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of 3.15, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.25. The Western Union Company has a twelve month low of $8.41 and a twelve month high of $13.12.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.01. Western Union had a net margin of 22.08% and a return on equity of 77.19%. The firm had revenue of $983.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.15%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on WU. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of Western Union from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $7.50 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Western Union in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Union has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.78.

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.