Vestcor Inc Buys New Holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Vestcor Inc purchased a new position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 26,692 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $283,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WU. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Union in the third quarter worth $25,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Western Union in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky bought a new stake in Western Union in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 1,734.7% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 4,862 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 4,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Union during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. 91.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Western Union Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of WU opened at $10.66 on Tuesday. The Western Union Company has a twelve month low of $10.04 and a twelve month high of $14.00. 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 $10.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.03. The company has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.82%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.43%.

Western Union announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, December 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.