The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 1.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 410,320 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 7,267 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Western Union were worth $4,895,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WU. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Western Union by 52.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,588 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Western Union by 89.3% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,226 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Western Union by 31.1% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,316 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Western Union in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Trading Down 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE WU opened at $10.75 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.76. 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 Western Union Company has a 12-month low of $10.51 and a 12-month high of $14.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Western Union had a net margin of 16.07% and a return on equity of 120.39%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

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

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.74%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WU has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on 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 MarketBeat, Western Union presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.63.

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.