Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Makes New Investment in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 19,557 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WU. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Western Union by 971.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 13,876 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $170,000 after buying an additional 12,581 shares during the last quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 53,759 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $641,000 after purchasing an additional 3,958 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 1,189.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,854 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 7,245 shares during the period. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 35,281 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 2,642 shares during the period. Finally, PFG Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 51,677 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 2,448 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays lowered 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, UBS Group lowered 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.11.

Western Union Price Performance

Western Union stock opened at $10.81 on Thursday. The Western Union Company has a 12-month low of $10.04 and a 12-month high of $14.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $10.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a return on equity of 96.90% and a net margin of 22.19%. Equities analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

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

Western Union declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, December 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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.