Barclays PLC Buys 51,327 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Barclays PLC raised its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 9.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 608,454 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 51,327 shares during the period. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $7,257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Western Union by 17.7% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 9,736,930 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $118,985,000 after purchasing an additional 1,462,853 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Western Union by 62.8% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,730,450 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $45,586,000 after buying an additional 1,439,310 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Western Union by 52.0% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,337,466 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,784,000 after buying an additional 1,142,400 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union during the third quarter worth approximately $11,726,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 5,731.4% in the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 787,943 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,629,000 after acquiring an additional 774,431 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Union Stock Performance

Western Union stock opened at $10.75 on Thursday. The Western Union Company has a 1 year low of $10.51 and a 1 year high of $14.19. The company’s 50-day moving average is $11.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.76. 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 company has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a PE ratio of 5.51, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.74%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.21%.

Western Union declared that its board has initiated 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 purchase up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WU has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays decreased 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. UBS Group lowered their target price on Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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 report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.63.

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.