Yousif Capital Management LLC Sells 4,623 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Yousif Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 180,108 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 4,623 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Western Union were worth $2,147,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WU. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in Western Union in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new position in Western Union in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Western Union by 1,092.6% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,462 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 5,004 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Western Union in the third quarter valued at approximately $83,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Western Union by 23.2% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 6,793 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 1,278 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Western Union

In other Western Union news, Director Timothy P. Murphy bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $12.85 per share, with a total value of $128,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $722,234.25. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WU. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Monness Crespi & Hardt assumed coverage on shares of Western Union in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.45.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WU opened at $13.45 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a PE ratio of 7.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $13.46 and its 200-day moving average is $12.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.38, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The Western Union Company has a 52 week low of $10.37 and a 52 week high of $14.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 14.12% and a return on equity of 120.76%. Western Union’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.62%.

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.