SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Invests $192,000 in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 18,130 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $192,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Western Union by 171.5% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 17,777 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $188,000 after acquiring an additional 11,229 shares during the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 4th quarter valued at about $219,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Western Union by 2,946.0% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 8,285 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 8,013 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Western Union by 41.7% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 1,857,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Western Union by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 20,205 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 4,225 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on WU. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Union has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.11.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WU opened at $11.06 on Friday. The Western Union Company has a 12-month low of $10.04 and a 12-month high of $14.19. The company has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a PE ratio of 4.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 EPS 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Western Union announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 repurchase up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.50%. Western Union’s payout ratio is currently 34.43%.

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.