Seven Eight Capital LP Invests $2.29 Million in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 187,231 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,288,000. Seven Eight Capital LP owned about 0.06% of Western Union at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WU. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Union during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Western Union in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Union during the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Western Union in the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Western Union by 59.9% during the 1st quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,233 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Western Union Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of WU stock traded up $0.03 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $11.90. 3,630,297 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,976,364. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $12.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.72. The Western Union Company has a twelve month low of $10.92 and a twelve month high of $14.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.98, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

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

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.90%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Western Union's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.