EntryPoint Capital LLC Invests $413,000 in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 38,965 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $413,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WU. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,055,661 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $403,390,000 after acquiring an additional 317,711 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 0.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,926,192 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $154,209,000 after purchasing an additional 52,081 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Western Union by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,489,079 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $132,384,000 after acquiring an additional 549,931 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 0.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,179,698 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $85,671,000 after acquiring an additional 25,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Western Union by 41.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,305,933 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $66,843,000 after purchasing an additional 1,857,012 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price 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. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $12.11.

Western Union Price Performance

NYSE:WU traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $10.48. 3,659,118 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,411,019. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04. The stock has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a PE ratio of 3.84, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.79. The Western Union Company has a 12 month low of $10.04 and a 12 month high of $13.95. The company has a fifty day moving average of $10.63 and a 200 day moving average of $10.94.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 8.97%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Western Union's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.43%.

Western Union declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, December 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

About Western Union

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.