Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 47.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 71,424 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,041 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $756,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of Western Union by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 22,298 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 982 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in Western Union by 0.5% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 239,236 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,530,000 after buying an additional 1,085 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in Western Union by 0.7% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 186,822 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,947,000 after buying an additional 1,249 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Western Union by 0.3% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 405,839 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,294,000 after buying an additional 1,262 shares during the period. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Western Union by 2.3% during the first quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 62,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $665,000 after buying an additional 1,393 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Union Stock Down 2.3%

WU stock opened at $8.12 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $9.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.93. The Western Union Company has a fifty-two week low of $8.10 and a fifty-two week high of $13.12. The company has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.65.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $983.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 77.19% and a net margin of 22.08%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.58%. Western Union’s payout ratio is 35.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WU shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $10.50 price target (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.