Versor Investments LP Reduces Holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Versor Investments LP decreased its holdings in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 60.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,384 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 45,652 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP's holdings in Western Union were worth $359,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Western Union by 14.0% during the second quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 49,801 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $609,000 after acquiring an additional 6,107 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Western Union by 18.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 12,298 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $150,000 after purchasing an additional 1,890 shares in the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 37.7% in the second quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 49,538 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 13,570 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 11.6% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 354,607 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,333,000 after purchasing an additional 36,951 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in shares of Western Union by 42.1% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 50,342 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $615,000 after buying an additional 14,914 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on WU shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Western Union from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Union from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $13.00 price target on shares of Western Union in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $13.14.

Western Union Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of WU traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $12.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,630,114 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,006,019. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.98. The Western Union Company has a 52 week low of $10.92 and a 52 week high of $14.19. The company's fifty day moving average price is $12.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.80. The stock has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of 7.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.86.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.01). Western Union had a return on equity of 123.71% and a net margin of 13.64%. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.74%. Western Union's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.62%.

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.