Western Union (NYSE:WU) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

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

Western Union Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of WU traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $13.59. The stock had a trading volume of 5,713,792 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,438,921. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.60. Western Union has a twelve month low of $10.37 and a twelve month high of $14.19. The firm has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend yield of 6.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is 55.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WU has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt initiated coverage on Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Western Union from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Union currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.25.

Insider Activity at Western Union

In related news, Director Timothy P. Murphy bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $12.85 per share, with a total value of $128,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 56,205 shares in the company, valued at $722,234.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company 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.