Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Acquires Shares of 105,000 The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 105,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,113,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WU. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Western Union by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 50,387 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $534,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in Western Union by 0.5% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 238,876 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,849,000 after purchasing an additional 1,205 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Western Union by 1.4% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 88,410 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in Western Union by 12.9% during the third quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 13,177 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in Western Union by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 61,606 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $653,000 after purchasing an additional 1,560 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on WU. Barclays dropped their target price 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 report on Friday, October 25th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of 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 decreased their target price on shares of 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. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.11.

Western Union Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Western Union stock opened at $10.74 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.14. The company has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.93, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.85. The Western Union Company has a 12-month low of $10.04 and a 12-month high of $14.19.

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

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.76%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.43%.

Western Union announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, December 13th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding 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 shares are undervalued.

Western Union Company 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.