Kendall Capital Management Has $600,000 Position in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Kendall Capital Management reduced its stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 9.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 56,592 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 5,807 shares during the period. Kendall Capital Management’s holdings in Western Union were worth $600,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 0.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,926,192 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $154,209,000 after acquiring an additional 52,081 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,489,079 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $132,384,000 after acquiring an additional 549,931 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 0.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,179,698 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $85,671,000 after acquiring an additional 25,458 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,305,933 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $66,843,000 after acquiring an additional 1,857,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 20.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,698,559 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $20,264,000 after acquiring an additional 283,479 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of WU stock opened at $11.62 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.79. The Western Union Company has a 52 week low of $10.04 and a 52 week high of $14.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $10.56 and a 200-day moving average of $11.08.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Western Union Company will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s payout ratio is currently 34.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WU has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Three research 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.11.

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.