Western Union (NYSE:WU) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.01 EPS

Western Union (NYSE:WU) issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The credit services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.01), Briefing.com reports. Western Union had a net margin of 14.12% and a return on equity of 120.76%. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Western Union updated its FY24 guidance to $1.70-1.80 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance to 1.700-1.800 EPS.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WU traded down $0.92 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $12.05. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,390,860 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,001,572. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.08 billion, a PE ratio of 7.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.38, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $12.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.92. Western Union has a 52 week low of $10.92 and a 52 week high of $14.19.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.80%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on WU. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Western Union in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Western Union from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Union presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.43.

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.