The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Shares Acquired by Oak Thistle LLC

Oak Thistle LLC increased its stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 175.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 123,594 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 78,676 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $1,308,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Western Union during the fourth quarter worth approximately $705,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in Western Union by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 31,918 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 5,232 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Western Union during the fourth quarter worth $1,586,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Western Union by 0.8% in the fourth 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 period. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Western Union in the fourth quarter valued at $413,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Trading Up 2.7%

NYSE WU opened at $8.83 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.65. The Western Union Company has a 52-week low of $7.99 and a 52-week high of $13.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $8.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.84.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.01. Western Union had a net margin of 22.08% and a return on equity of 77.19%. The business had revenue of $983.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.64%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WU has been the topic of several recent research reports. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Western Union in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $9.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $10.50 price objective (down from $11.00) on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on Western Union in a report on Monday, June 2nd. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.33.

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.