Range Financial Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Range Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) by 828.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 93,959 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 83,835 shares during the period. Range Financial Group LLC's holdings in Western Union were worth $996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in Western Union by 42.1% in the 2nd 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 period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Western Union by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 80,813 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $979,000 after acquiring an additional 896 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Western Union by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,034,943 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $12,647,000 after acquiring an additional 39,739 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Western Union by 17.7% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 9,736,930 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $118,985,000 after purchasing an additional 1,462,853 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Western Union by 36,507.6% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 33,679 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 33,587 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Western Union Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Western Union stock traded down $0.01 on Tuesday, hitting $10.44. The stock had a trading volume of 3,943,968 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,425,063. The stock has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.35, a PEG 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 stock's 50-day simple moving average is $10.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.57. The Western Union Company has a one year low of $10.37 and a one year high of $14.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 120.39% and a net margin of 16.07%. The business's revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors 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 9.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. Western Union's payout ratio is currently 48.21%.

Western Union declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Friday, December 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to buy up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.