DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main Takes Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main purchased a new position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 44,612 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $473,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WU. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Western Union during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky bought a new stake in shares of Western Union in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 662.7% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,722 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 3,234 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC grew its position in Western Union by 267.5% during the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 3,833 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 2,790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in Western Union by 1,734.7% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 4,862 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 4,597 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WU. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded Western Union from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $7.50 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $10.50 price objective (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.78.

Western Union Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Western Union stock opened at $9.76 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $10.22 and its 200 day moving average is $10.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a PE ratio of 3.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.72. The Western Union Company has a 1 year low of $9.00 and a 1 year high of $13.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $983.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%. The company’s revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.