Western Union (NYSE:WU) Announces Earnings Results

Western Union (NYSE:WU) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The credit services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.04, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 113.63% and a net margin of 14.37%. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. Western Union updated its FY24 guidance to $1.70-1.80 EPS.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WU traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $13.59. 5,718,971 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,438,921. Western Union has a 52 week low of $10.37 and a 52 week high of $14.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a PE ratio of 8.09, a PEG ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $13.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.60.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.92%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WU shares. Wolfe Research reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays raised their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Union news, Director Timothy P. Murphy purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.85 per share, with a total value of $128,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 56,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $722,234.25. The acquisition 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.

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.