National Bank of Canada FI Boosts Stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 88,083 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,270 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Western Union were worth $1,051,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 52.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,588 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management increased its stake in Western Union by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 56,066 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $685,000 after buying an additional 979 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Western Union by 31.1% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,316 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Western Union by 4.2% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 27,050 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $331,000 after acquiring an additional 1,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 0.5% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 238,876 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,849,000 after acquiring an additional 1,205 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Western Union Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE WU opened at $10.76 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.86. The Western Union Company has a 12-month low of $10.51 and a 12-month high of $14.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $11.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.79.

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

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.74%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.21%.

Western Union declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, December 13th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.