San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 66,306 The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC bought 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 & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 66,306 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $703,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WU. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union during the 4th quarter valued at about $476,000. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Western Union by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 59,388 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $630,000 after buying an additional 5,629 shares during the period. Range Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Western Union by 828.1% during the fourth quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 93,959 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $996,000 after buying an additional 83,835 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in Western Union by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 87,929 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $932,000 after acquiring an additional 7,738 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,698,559 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $20,264,000 after acquiring an additional 283,479 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Western Union Price Performance

WU stock traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $10.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,435,706 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,934,641. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The Western Union Company has a 12 month low of $10.19 and a 12 month high of $14.19. The company has a 50 day moving average of $10.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.49.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 16.07% and a return on equity of 120.39%. 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 earned $0.43 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Western Union declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, December 13th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to buy up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd were given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.93%. Western Union's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.21%.

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.