Aquatic Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 4,333.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 232,671 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 227,423 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Western Union worth $2,466,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Western Union by 9.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 608,454 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,257,000 after acquiring an additional 51,327 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC lifted its holdings in Western Union by 4.5% in the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 118,711 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,416,000 after acquiring an additional 5,143 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Western Union in the third quarter valued at approximately $381,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in Western Union by 1.4% during the third 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. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Western Union by 8.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,103,296 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $13,061,000 after purchasing an additional 81,343 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut Western Union from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $7.50 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $10.50 target price (down from $11.00) on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Union presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.78.

Western Union Stock Up 0.2 %

Western Union stock opened at $10.16 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.69. The Western Union Company has a fifty-two week low of $9.00 and a fifty-two week high of $13.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $10.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.64.

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

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.25%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.07%.

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.