The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Short Interest Update

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 27,070,000 shares, a growth of 22.4% from the January 15th total of 22,120,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 5,250,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.2 days. Currently, 8.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WU traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $10.81. 3,467,850 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,758,861. Western Union has a 12-month low of $10.04 and a 12-month high of $14.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04. The company has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.96, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.85. The business's fifty day moving average price is $10.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.15.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a return on equity of 96.90% and a net margin of 22.19%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Western Union will post 1.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.70%. Western Union's payout ratio is currently 34.43%.

Institutional Trading of Western Union

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Western Union during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,734,000. Brickwood Asset Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Western Union during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,177,000. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Western Union by 55.4% during the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 53,325 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $565,000 after acquiring an additional 19,013 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Union by 1,487.6% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 3,080 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 2,886 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CSS LLC IL raised its holdings in shares of Western Union by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. CSS LLC IL now owns 90,815 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $963,000 after acquiring an additional 16,420 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WU has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective 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. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Union from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.11.

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.