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

Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 461,028 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,887,000. Trexquant Investment LP owned 0.14% of Western Union at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky purchased a new stake in Western Union in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in Western Union by 1,734.7% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 4,862 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 4,597 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Western Union during the fourth quarter worth $53,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Western Union by 329.4% during the fourth quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 5,153 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 3,953 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on WU. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price 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. Barclays lowered their price target on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.11.

Western Union Trading Down 3.6 %

Shares of WU opened at $10.13 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $10.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.89. The Western Union Company has a 12-month low of $9.92 and a 12-month high of $13.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.79.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Western Union declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, December 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication 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 was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.28%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.43%.

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.