Western Union Q1 EPS Forecast Decreased by Northland Capmk

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Northland Capmk decreased their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for Western Union in a note issued to investors on Monday, March 31st. Northland Capmk analyst M. Grondahl now expects that the credit services provider will post earnings per share of $0.37 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $0.43. The consensus estimate for Western Union's current full-year earnings is $1.79 per share. Northland Capmk also issued estimates for Western Union's Q2 2025 earnings at $0.42 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $0.49 EPS.

Western Union (NYSE:WU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.02). Western Union had a net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Western Union in a research note on Thursday. Barclays reduced their price objective on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Western Union in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.11.

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Western Union Price Performance

NYSE:WU traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $10.50. The stock had a trading volume of 7,706,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,448,838. Western Union has a one year low of $10.04 and a one year high of $13.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $10.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.79.

Institutional Trading of Western Union

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Western Union by 18.0% during 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 buying an additional 4,426,126 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Western Union by 202.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,661,732 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $60,014,000 after acquiring an additional 3,792,683 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Union by 39.0% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,206,431 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $118,788,000 after acquiring an additional 3,146,395 shares in the last quarter. Brickwood Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Western Union in the 4th quarter worth about $31,177,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in Western Union by 32.1% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 9,021,308 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $95,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,194,403 shares in the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.96%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Western Union's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.43%.

Western Union declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Friday, December 13th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board 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.