Brokers Offer Predictions for The Western Union Company’s Q2 2024 Earnings (NYSE:WU)

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) – William Blair raised their Q2 2024 earnings per share estimates for Western Union in a research report issued on Thursday, April 25th. William Blair analyst C. Kennedy now forecasts that the credit services provider will post earnings of $0.43 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $0.39. William Blair has a “Market Perform” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Western Union’s current full-year earnings is $1.75 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Western Union’s Q3 2024 earnings at $0.43 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $0.43 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $1.74 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $1.83 EPS.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.05. Western Union had a net margin of 14.12% and a return on equity of 120.76%. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

WU has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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, April 25th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Western Union from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Monness Crespi & Hardt started coverage on Western Union in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.45.

Western Union Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of WU stock opened at $13.51 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.38, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Western Union has a one year low of $10.37 and a one year high of $14.19. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $13.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.61. The company has a market capitalization of $4.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.99, a PEG ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.85.

Institutional Trading of Western Union

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in Western Union in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Union during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Union by 500.5% during the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,312 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 1,927 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Western Union in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Western Union in the first quarter worth about $41,000. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Western Union

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

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.96%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.62%.

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.