Farther Finance Advisors LLC Lowers Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC lessened its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 27.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,644 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 6,704 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $187,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WU. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 185.3% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 36,295 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 23,574 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in Western Union in the 3rd quarter worth about $120,000. Royce & Associates LP purchased a new stake in Western Union during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $132,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Union by 52.2% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 15,433 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $184,000 after acquiring an additional 5,292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Union by 74.7% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 58,838 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $702,000 after acquiring an additional 25,159 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Price Performance

NYSE:WU opened at $10.73 on Thursday. The Western Union Company has a one year low of $10.04 and a one year high of $14.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a PE ratio of 3.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $10.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.02.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a return on equity of 96.90% and a net margin of 22.19%. Equities research analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.76%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.43%.

Western Union announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Friday, December 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WU has been the topic of several research reports. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price 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. Barclays decreased their target price on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.11.

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.