Burney Co. Lowers Holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Burney Co. reduced its stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 75.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 102,993 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 314,277 shares during the quarter. Burney Co.’s holdings in Western Union were worth $1,092,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Western Union during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 52.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,588 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of 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 increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 31.1% in the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,316 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union in the third quarter worth about $60,000. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WU has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.63.

Western Union Price Performance

WU stock opened at $10.52 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a PE ratio of 5.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.85. The Western Union Company has a 12 month low of $10.19 and a 12 month high of $14.19. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $10.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96.

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

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

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.94%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.21%.

Western Union Company 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.