461,028 Shares in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Bought by Trexquant Investment LP

Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 461,028 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,887,000. Trexquant Investment LP owned approximately 0.14% of Western Union as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Western Union by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 50,387 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $534,000 after acquiring an additional 1,072 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in Western Union by 1.4% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 88,410 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in Western Union by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 61,606 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $653,000 after acquiring an additional 1,560 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in shares of Western Union by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 45,825 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $486,000 after acquiring an additional 1,565 shares during the period. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 27,044 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 1,727 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Union Price Performance

WU stock traded down $0.67 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $9.32. The stock had a trading volume of 1,439,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,601,395. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.69. 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 Western Union Company has a 52 week low of $9.00 and a 52 week high of $13.93.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

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

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.08%. Western Union's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on WU. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus 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.