Trexquant Investment LP Makes New $4.89 Million Investment in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 461,028 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,887,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in Western Union by 32.1% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,021,308 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $95,626,000 after acquiring an additional 2,194,403 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Western Union in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $22,984,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in Western Union during the 4th quarter worth approximately $22,848,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Western Union by 41.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,305,933 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $66,843,000 after buying an additional 1,857,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in Western Union in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,895,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of WU opened at $10.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The Western Union Company has a 1-year low of $9.92 and a 1-year high of $13.93. The stock has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a PE ratio of 3.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $10.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.89.

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

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.28%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.43%.

Western Union declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, December 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WU has been the topic of several analyst reports. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Western Union currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.11.

About Western Union

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.