The Western Union Company (WU) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.24 on March 31st

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 4th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of 0.235 per share by the credit services provider on Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th.

Western Union has a dividend payout ratio of 49.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. 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 Stock Performance

Shares of WU stock opened at $10.70 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.05. Western Union has a 12-month low of $10.04 and a 12-month high of $14.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Western Union will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WU shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Western Union from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Western Union from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Union in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Western Union from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Union currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.11.

Western Union declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan 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 plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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.