FY2025 EPS Forecast for Western Union Lowered by Analyst

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) – Research analysts at Zacks Research reduced their FY2025 earnings estimates for shares of Western Union in a research note issued to investors on Monday, February 17th. Zacks Research analyst K. Dey now expects 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.

WU has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Three investment 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.com, Western Union currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.11.

Western Union Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Western Union stock opened at $10.81 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.96, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.20. Western Union has a one year low of $10.04 and a one year high of $14.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $10.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.15.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a return on equity of 96.90% and a net margin of 22.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Union

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WU. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Western Union by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,055,661 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $403,390,000 after purchasing an additional 317,711 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Western Union by 18.0% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 4,426,126 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Western Union by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,926,192 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $154,209,000 after purchasing an additional 52,081 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Western Union by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,489,079 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $132,384,000 after purchasing an additional 549,931 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Western Union by 39.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.70%. Western Union’s payout ratio is 34.43%.

Western Union declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, December 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 27.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.