Western Union (NYSE:WU) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Western Union (NYSE:WU) announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of Western Union stock traded up $0.13 on Tuesday, reaching $10.40. 9,254,771 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,910,602. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $10.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Western Union has a 1-year low of $10.04 and a 1-year high of $14.19. The company has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.85.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.04%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WU. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of 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. UBS Group cut their target price on Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays lowered their price target on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.63.

Western Union declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, December 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is 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.