The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Shares Bought by Krane Funds Advisors LLC

Krane Funds Advisors LLC increased its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 24.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 43,041 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,505 shares during the period. Krane Funds Advisors LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $456,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WU. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,055,661 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $403,390,000 after purchasing an additional 317,711 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Western Union by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,926,192 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $154,209,000 after buying an additional 52,081 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Western Union by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,489,079 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $132,384,000 after acquiring an additional 549,931 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in Western Union by 32.1% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,021,308 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $95,626,000 after acquiring an additional 2,194,403 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,179,698 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $85,671,000 after purchasing an additional 25,458 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of WU opened at $10.13 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of 3.71, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $10.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.89. The Western Union Company has a twelve month low of $9.84 and a twelve month high of $13.93.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings results 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, research analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 reacquire up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.28%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna decreased 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday. 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.11.

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.