Q2 2024 EPS Estimates for The Western Union Company Raised by Analyst (NYSE:WU)

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) – Stock analysts at William Blair lifted their Q2 2024 earnings estimates for shares of Western Union in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, April 25th. William Blair analyst C. Kennedy now expects that the credit services provider will post earnings per share of $0.43 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $0.39. William Blair has a “Market Perform” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Western Union’s current full-year earnings is $1.75 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Western Union’s Q3 2024 earnings at $0.43 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $0.43 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $1.74 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $1.83 EPS.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.05. Western Union had a net margin of 14.12% and a return on equity of 120.76%. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on WU. Monness Crespi & Hardt started coverage on Western Union in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, January 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Western Union from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.45.

Western Union Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of WU opened at $13.45 on Monday. Western Union has a one year low of $10.37 and a one year high of $14.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $13.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.38, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $4.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.96, a P/E/G ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.85.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Union by 13.0% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 38,083 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $532,000 after buying an additional 4,379 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Western Union by 25.7% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 317,656 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,441,000 after acquiring an additional 64,967 shares in the last quarter. TSP Capital Management Group LLC raised its stake in Western Union by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. TSP Capital Management Group LLC now owns 187,006 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,614,000 after acquiring an additional 5,141 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Western Union during the 1st quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 33.7% in the first quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 82,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,157,000 after purchasing an additional 20,887 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy P. Murphy bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $12.85 per share, for a total transaction of $128,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 56,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $722,234.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors 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 yield of 6.99%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.62%.

About Western Union

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.