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

Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 1.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 88,410 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares during the quarter. Tidal Investments LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $1,055,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WU. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quarry LP increased its position in Western Union by 52.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,588 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in Western Union by 89.3% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,226 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Western Union by 31.1% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,316 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Western Union in the 3rd quarter worth $60,000. 91.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WU opened at $10.70 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The Western Union Company has a one year low of $10.51 and a one year high of $14.19. The firm has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a PE ratio of 5.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.86.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 120.39% and a net margin of 16.07%. Western Union’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.79%. Western Union’s payout ratio is presently 48.21%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target 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. StockNews.com upgraded Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.63.

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.