Brokerages Expect The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Will Announce Quarterly Sales of $1.14 Billion

Equities analysts expect The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU – Get Rating) to report sales of $1.14 billion for the current fiscal quarter, according to Zacks Investment Research. Six analysts have provided estimates for Western Union’s earnings, with estimates ranging from $1.07 billion to $1.18 billion. Western Union reported sales of $1.29 billion in the same quarter last year, which would suggest a negative year over year growth rate of 11.6%. The company is expected to issue its next earnings report on Monday, January 1st.

On average, analysts expect that Western Union will report full-year sales of $4.56 billion for the current fiscal year, with estimates ranging from $4.52 billion to $4.60 billion. For the next financial year, analysts forecast that the firm will report sales of $4.56 billion, with estimates ranging from $4.48 billion to $4.60 billion. Zacks Investment Research’s sales calculations are an average based on a survey of sell-side research firms that that provide coverage for Western Union.

Western Union (NYSE:WU – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 28th. The credit services provider reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 18.29% and a return on equity of 269.10%. The company’s revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WU shares. Wolfe Research reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of Western Union in a research note on Friday, March 25th. Citigroup cut shares of Western Union from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $20.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Western Union from $20.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Friday, April 29th. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $20.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 14th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.12.

Shares of NYSE:WU opened at $16.66 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.34 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $18.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.18, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Western Union has a 1-year low of $15.69 and a 1-year high of $25.34.

Western Union announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 10th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 8,028,118 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $150,447,000 after purchasing an additional 415,377 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Western Union by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 226,033 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,236,000 after purchasing an additional 5,655 shares during the period. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can lifted its position in shares of Western Union by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 1,699,838 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $33,614,000 after acquiring an additional 80,826 shares during the period. Shelton Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Western Union during the 1st quarter worth $411,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in Western Union by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 62,381,077 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,169,021,000 after purchasing an additional 1,678,722 shares in the last quarter. 97.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Western Union (Get Rating)

The Western Union Company provides money movement and payment services worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Consumer-to-Consumer and Business Solutions. The Consumer-to-Consumer segment facilitates money transfers between two consumers, primarily through a network of third-party agents and sub-agents; and offers international cross-border transfers and intra-country transfers, as well as money transfer transactions through websites and mobile devices.

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