Western Union (WU) to Release Quarterly Earnings on Wednesday

Western Union (NYSE:WU) is set to announce its earnings results after the market closes on Wednesday, April 24th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.40 per share for the quarter. Western Union has set its FY24 guidance at $1.65-1.75 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance at 1.650-1.750 EPS.Investors interested in listening to the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37. Western Union had a net margin of 14.37% and a return on equity of 113.63%. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect Western Union to post $2 EPS for the current fiscal year and $2 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Western Union Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WU opened at $12.70 on Wednesday. Western Union has a one year low of $10.37 and a one year high of $14.19. The company has a 50 day moving average of $13.32 and a 200-day moving average of $12.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.23, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.56, a P/E/G ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.85.

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 given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is 55.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Western Union from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of Western Union in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Western Union from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Equitable Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 8.3% in the first quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 10,834 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 834 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Union by 3.3% in the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 30,876 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $509,000 after acquiring an additional 975 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its holdings in Western Union by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 24,158 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 1,035 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Western Union by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 25,120 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 1,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming raised its holdings in Western Union by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 7,458 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 1,131 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

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.