The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Shares Purchased by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC increased its holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 9.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 608,454 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 51,327 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.18% of Western Union worth $7,257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Western Union in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Western Union by 52.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,588 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted 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 valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Western Union by 31.1% in the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,316 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new position in Western Union in the third quarter worth $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WU has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Western Union from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays decreased 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 report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped 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 research report on Monday, December 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Union presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $12.63.

Western Union Stock Performance

WU traded down $0.05 on Thursday, reaching $10.70. The stock had a trading volume of 6,133,358 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,157,784. The business's 50-day moving average price is $11.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.76. The company has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.86. The Western Union Company has a 12-month low of $10.51 and a 12-month high of $14.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 120.39% and a net margin of 16.07%. Western Union's revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.

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 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.79%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 23rd. Western Union's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.21%.

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.