Western Union (NYSE:WU) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Western Union (NYSE:WU) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.02), Zacks reports. Western Union had a return on equity of 120.39% and a net margin of 16.07%. Western Union updated its FY 2025 guidance to 1.750-1.850 EPS.

Western Union Stock Performance

NYSE:WU opened at $11.01 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $10.61 and a 200-day moving average of $11.27. The firm has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. Western Union has a twelve month low of $10.04 and a twelve month high of $14.19.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.54%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s payout ratio is currently 48.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WU. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays reduced their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.20.

Western Union announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback 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 repurchase up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.