The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.24

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 4th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of 0.235 per share by the credit services provider on Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.04%.

Western Union has a payout ratio of 49.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Western Union to earn $1.83 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.94 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 51.4%.

Western Union Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of WU traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $10.40. 9,254,091 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,910,602. The company has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of 5.33, 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. The business has a 50 day moving average of $10.64 and a 200 day moving average of $11.30. Western Union has a 1-year low of $10.04 and a 1-year high of $14.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a return on equity of 120.39% and a net margin of 16.07%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Western Union will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays dropped their target price on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.63.

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

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.