The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Plans $0.24 Quarterly Dividend

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 15th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of 0.235 per share by the credit services provider on Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th.

Western Union has a payout ratio of 50.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Western Union to earn $1.91 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.94 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 49.2%.

Western Union Price Performance

WU opened at $8.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $9.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.30. Western Union has a 1 year low of $8.62 and a 1 year high of $13.12.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The credit services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $983.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Western Union had a net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 96.90%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Western Union will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Western Union

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 15.5% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 39,859 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $422,000 after buying an additional 5,351 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 93.5% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 27,535 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 13,302 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,861,908 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $19,699,000 after purchasing an additional 154,110 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Western Union by 27.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,964,972 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $20,789,000 after purchasing an additional 422,715 shares during the period. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on WU. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $10.50 price target (down from $11.00) on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Western Union from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Oppenheimer began coverage on Western Union in a report on Monday, June 2nd. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Western Union from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.78.

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.