Western Union (NYSE:WU) Updates FY 2024 Earnings Guidance

Western Union (NYSE:WU) issued an update on its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 1.700-1.800 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 1.700. The company issued revenue guidance of $4.2 billion-$4.2 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $4.1 billion. Western Union also updated its FY24 guidance to $1.70-1.80 EPS.

Western Union Trading Down 2.1 %

NYSE:WU traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $13.31. The stock had a trading volume of 6,473,822 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,459,139. The business’s 50 day moving average is $13.42 and its 200-day moving average is $12.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.23, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Western Union has a one year low of $10.37 and a one year high of $14.19. The company has a market cap of $4.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.91, a P/E/G ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.85.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Western Union had a return on equity of 113.63% and a net margin of 14.37%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Union will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.06%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Western Union from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Western Union from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research report on Thursday. Wolfe Research restated an underperform rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Union presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $13.45.

Insider Transactions at Western Union

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

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.