Western Union (NYSE:WU) Announces Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Western Union (NYSE:WU) announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.02), Zacks reports. Western Union had a net margin of 16.07% and a return on equity of 120.39%. Western Union updated its FY 2025 guidance to 1.750-1.850 EPS.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WU opened at $11.01 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $10.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.27. Western Union has a fifty-two week low of $10.04 and a fifty-two week high of $14.19. The firm has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of 5.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.54%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Western Union’s payout ratio is 48.21%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.