Oak Thistle LLC Takes $476,000 Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in shares of 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 purchased 44,918 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $476,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in 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 valued at $615,000 after purchasing an additional 14,914 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 121,455 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,484,000 after purchasing an additional 12,495 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Western Union by 2.6% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 499,269 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $6,101,000 after purchasing an additional 12,815 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Western Union by 6.5% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 384,575 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,700,000 after buying an additional 23,523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optimist Retirement Group LLC acquired a new position in Western Union during the second quarter worth about $250,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Western Union Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Western Union stock traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $10.44. 4,555,393 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,925,096. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.85. The Western Union Company has a twelve month low of $10.19 and a twelve 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. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.48.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. Western Union had a net margin of 16.07% and a return on equity of 120.39%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. Western Union's revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Western Union declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, December 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. Western Union's payout ratio is 48.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WU shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com raised Western Union from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Union presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $12.63.

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.