Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 20,170 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. cut its stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 51.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 19,054 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 20,170 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Western Union were worth $227,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WU. CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in Western Union during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $120,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Western Union by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 13,177 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its stake in Western Union by 185.3% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 36,295 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 23,574 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 16.7% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 165,990 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,980,000 after buying an additional 23,746 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Western Union by 4.7% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 480,146 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,728,000 after purchasing an additional 21,500 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Union Stock Performance

Western Union stock opened at $10.86 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The Western Union Company has a 1-year low of $10.51 and a 1-year high of $14.19. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.09.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion for 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. UBS Group reduced their price target 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.86.

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.