Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Acquires 13,333 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 149,688 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,333 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Western Union were worth $1,587,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Western Union by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 50,387 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in shares of Western Union by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 238,876 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,849,000 after purchasing an additional 1,205 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Western Union by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 88,410 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Western Union by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 13,177 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Western Union by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 61,606 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $653,000 after purchasing an additional 1,560 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Union Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WU opened at $10.91 on Wednesday. The Western Union Company has a one year low of $10.04 and a one year high of $14.19. The company has a 50 day moving average of $10.52 and a 200-day moving average of $11.13. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.85.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, December 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is 34.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WU shares. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Susquehanna lowered 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 report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Union currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.11.

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.