Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Reduces Stock Holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. reduced its holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 16.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 14,927 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,950 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Western Union were worth $158,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WU. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in 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 worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Western Union by 12.4% in the second quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 20,655 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 2,280 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in shares of Western Union by 103.0% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 106,800 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 54,200 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Union by 33.4% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 26,148 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 6,554 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Union by 25.7% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 60,046 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $716,000 after purchasing an additional 12,283 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Union Stock Up 1.2 %

WU opened at $10.40 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $10.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.27. The company has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of 5.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.85. The Western Union Company has a 1 year low of $10.04 and a 1 year high of $14.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a net margin of 16.07% and a return on equity of 120.39%. Sell-side analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.04%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.21%.

Western Union announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 repurchase up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.63.

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.