Tidal Investments LLC Acquires 1,230 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 88,410 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $1,055,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in Western Union by 52.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,588 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Western Union by 89.3% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,226 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 31.1% in the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,316 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Western Union during the third quarter valued at $60,000. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.63.

Western Union Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of WU stock opened at $10.70 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The Western Union Company has a 12 month low of $10.51 and a 12 month high of $14.19. The stock has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.75.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.02. Western Union had a return on equity of 120.39% and a net margin of 16.07%. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. Western Union’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.79%. Western Union’s payout ratio is currently 48.21%.

Western Union declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, December 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to buy up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is 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.