Norges Bank Makes New Investment in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,168,268 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $22,984,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 0.64% of Western Union at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 50,387 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $534,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Western Union by 1.4% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 88,410 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,055,000 after buying an additional 1,230 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 61,606 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $653,000 after buying an additional 1,560 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in shares of Western Union by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 45,825 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $486,000 after buying an additional 1,565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Western Union by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 27,044 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 1,727 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Western Union Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE WU traded up $0.24 during trading on Friday, hitting $9.73. 5,568,234 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,640,855. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $10.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.79. 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 $3.26 billion, a PE ratio of 3.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.69. The Western Union Company has a 12-month low of $9.00 and a 12-month high of $13.93.

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

Western Union announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Friday, December 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Western Union's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on WU. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price target on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Western Union has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $12.11.

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.