Western Union (WU) Expected to Announce Earnings on Tuesday

Western Union (NYSE:WU) is anticipated to announce its earnings results after the market closes on Tuesday, February 4th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.42 per share and revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter. Investors interested in participating in the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Western Union Stock Performance

Shares of WU stock opened at $10.34 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. Western Union has a 52 week low of $10.17 and a 52 week high of $14.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a PE ratio of 5.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $10.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.30.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.09%. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.21%.

Western Union announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, December 13th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 27.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WU shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Western Union from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut 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 upgraded shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.63.

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.