Western Union (NYSE:WU) Updates FY24 Earnings Guidance

Western Union (NYSE:WU) issued an update on its FY24 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $1.70-1.80 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $1.70. The company issued revenue guidance of $4.125-4.200 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $4.13 billion. Western Union also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 1.700-1.800 EPS.

Western Union Trading Up 1.4 %

WU stock traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $13.47. 3,831,368 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,419,905. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a PE ratio of 7.97, a P/E/G ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 0.85. Western Union has a 1-year low of $10.37 and a 1-year high of $14.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The credit services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.05. Western Union had a return on equity of 120.76% and a net margin of 14.12%. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Western Union will post 1.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid 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 6.98%. Western Union’s payout ratio is presently 55.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt assumed coverage on Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a neutral rating for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Western Union from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a report on Thursday. William Blair reiterated a market perform rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Wolfe Research reiterated an underperform rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Western Union currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $13.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Timothy P. Murphy bought 10,000 shares of Western Union stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.85 per share, with a total value of $128,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 56,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $722,234.25. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.