Western Union (NYSE:WU) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.04 EPS

Western Union (NYSE:WU) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The credit services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue 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 %

NYSE WU traded up $0.19 on Wednesday, reaching $13.59. The stock had a trading volume of 5,718,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,438,921. Western Union has a 1 year low of $10.37 and a 1 year high of $14.19. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $13.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.60. The company has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.09, a P/E/G ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.23.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued 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 is 55.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on WU. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Monness Crespi & Hardt initiated coverage on shares of Western Union in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on Western Union from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Western Union from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Timothy P. Murphy purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $12.85 per share, with a total value of $128,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 56,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $722,234.25. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.