66,306 Shares in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Purchased by San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC

San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 66,306 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $703,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WU. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in Western Union in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 52.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,588 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 89.3% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,226 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Western Union by 31.1% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,316 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new position in Western Union in the 3rd quarter valued at about $60,000. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Union Price Performance

WU stock opened at $10.48 on Wednesday. The Western Union Company has a one year low of $10.19 and a one year high of $14.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $10.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a PE ratio of 5.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.02. Western Union had a net margin of 16.07% and a return on equity of 120.39%. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.97%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. Western Union’s payout ratio is 48.21%.

Western Union declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, December 13th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective 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. UBS Group decreased their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.63.

Western Union 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.