Centiva Capital LP Buys Shares of 50,395 The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Centiva Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 50,395 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $534,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Western Union during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky bought a new stake in shares of Western Union during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in Western Union by 662.7% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,722 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 3,234 shares in the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC grew its position in Western Union by 267.5% in the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 3,833 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 2,790 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in Western Union by 1,734.7% during the fourth 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of WU stock opened at $9.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The Western Union Company has a one year low of $9.00 and a one year high of $13.49. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a PE ratio of 3.58, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.72.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $983.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%. Western Union’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WU shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $10.50 price objective (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.78.

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.