1834 Investment Advisors Co. Cuts Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

1834 Investment Advisors Co. reduced its holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 483,107 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 57,281 shares during the period. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. owned about 0.14% of Western Union worth $5,121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WU. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Western Union by 30.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 348,850 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,263,000 after acquiring an additional 82,018 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union in the third quarter valued at approximately $8,124,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 293.3% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 198,002 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,362,000 after purchasing an additional 147,658 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Western Union by 20.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,698,559 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $20,264,000 after buying an additional 283,479 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Western Union by 19.0% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 523,676 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,247,000 after buying an additional 83,715 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of Western Union stock opened at $10.25 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The Western Union Company has a one year low of $10.19 and a one year high of $14.19. The company has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a PE ratio of 5.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.85.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, December 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.18%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WU has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays reduced 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.