The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 0.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 779,770 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,558 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Western Union were worth $8,250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in shares of Western Union by 1,487.6% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 3,080 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 2,886 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Western Union by 80.2% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,264 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its position in shares of Western Union by 662.7% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,722 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 3,234 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Western Union by 188.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,803 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 2,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Western Union by 267.5% in the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 3,833 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 2,790 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Union Price Performance

WU stock opened at $8.12 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $9.06 and a 200-day moving average of $9.93. The Western Union Company has a 12-month low of $8.10 and a 12-month high of $13.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. The company has a market cap of $2.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.03, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.65.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.01. Western Union had a net margin of 22.08% and a return on equity of 77.19%. The company had revenue of $983.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.58%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WU has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of Western Union from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $7.50 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Western Union in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Union presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.78.

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.