Short Interest in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Grows By 22.4%

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 27,070,000 shares, an increase of 22.4% from the January 15th total of 22,120,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,250,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.2 days. Approximately 8.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.11.

Western Union Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE:WU opened at $10.52 on Monday. Western Union has a 1-year low of $10.04 and a 1-year high of $14.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.85, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.85. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $10.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.16.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a return on equity of 96.90% and a net margin of 22.19%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Western Union will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Union announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, December 13th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.43%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union in the 3rd quarter valued at $8,124,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Union by 293.3% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 198,002 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,362,000 after buying an additional 147,658 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,698,559 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $20,264,000 after acquiring an additional 283,479 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 523,676 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,247,000 after acquiring an additional 83,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Western Union in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $734,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Company 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.