Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 91.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 55,478 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,467 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 62.8% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,730,450 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $45,586,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439,310 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 3rd quarter worth $11,726,000. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union in the third quarter valued at about $8,124,000. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Union during the third quarter worth about $6,190,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Western Union during the third quarter worth about $3,663,000. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WU has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group lowered 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. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.63.

Western Union Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:WU opened at $10.32 on Thursday. The Western Union Company has a 12-month low of $10.17 and a 12-month high of $14.19. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $10.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The firm has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.29, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.85.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.11%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.21%.

Western Union announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Friday, December 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.