FY2025 EPS Estimates for Western Union Cut by Zacks Research

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research lowered their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Western Union in a research report issued on Monday, February 17th. Zacks Research analyst K. Dey now anticipates that the credit services provider will earn $1.77 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $1.83. The consensus estimate for Western Union’s current full-year earnings is $1.80 per share.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%.

WU has been the topic of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays lowered their target price on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Union has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.11.

Western Union Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of WU opened at $10.74 on Thursday. Western Union has a 52 week low of $10.04 and a 52 week high of $14.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04. The company has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.93, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $10.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.14.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.76%. Western Union’s payout ratio is currently 34.43%.

Western Union announced that its board has approved 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 reacquire up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Union

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WU. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Western Union by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 28,983,265 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $307,224,000 after acquiring an additional 4,426,126 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 202.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,661,732 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $60,014,000 after purchasing an additional 3,792,683 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,206,431 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $118,788,000 after purchasing an additional 3,146,395 shares during the last quarter. Brickwood Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Western Union in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,177,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 32.1% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,021,308 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $95,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,194,403 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.