The Western Union Company (WU) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.24 on March 31st

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 4th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of 0.235 per share by the credit services provider on Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th.

Western Union has a payout ratio of 49.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Western Union to earn $1.83 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.94 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 51.4%.

Western Union Price Performance

WU opened at $11.01 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.27. Western Union has a 52-week low of $10.04 and a 52-week high of $14.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a return on equity of 120.39% and a net margin of 16.07%. As a group, analysts predict that Western Union will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Western Union declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, December 13th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.