Western Union
Market Cap
US$9.4b
Last Updated
2021/01/27 23:46 UTC
Data Sources
Company Financials +
Executive Summary
The Western Union Company provides money movement and payment services worldwide. More Details
Rewards
Risk Analysis
Snowflake Analysis
6 star dividend payer and good value.
Similar Companies
Share Price & News
How has Western Union's share price performed over time and what events caused price changes?
Latest Share Price and Events
Stable Share Price: WU is less volatile than 75% of US stocks over the past 3 months, typically moving +/- 5% a week.
Volatility Over Time: WU's weekly volatility (5%) has been stable over the past year.
Market Performance
7 Day Return
5.4%
WU
-5.7%
US IT
-2.7%
US Market
1 Year Return
-15.8%
WU
16.3%
US IT
21.2%
US Market
Return vs Industry: WU underperformed the US IT industry which returned 20.6% over the past year.
Return vs Market: WU underperformed the US Market which returned 24.3% over the past year.
Shareholder returns
| WU | Industry | Market | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Day | 5.4% | -5.7% | -2.7% |
| 30 Day | 6.6% | -6.1% | 1.8% |
| 90 Day | 10.8% | 11.4% | 16.4% |
| 1 Year | -12.4%-15.8% | 17.4%16.3% | 23.9%21.2% |
| 3 Year | 25.0%11.4% | 77.1%70.6% | 43.7%34.2% |
| 5 Year | 61.0%34.0% | 194.5%174.7% | 124.3%99.2% |
Long-Term Price Volatility Vs. Market
How volatile is Western Union's share price compared to the market and industry in the last 5 years?
Simply Wall St News
21 hours ago | Simply Wall St
How Many The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) Shares Did Insiders Buy, In The Last Year?4 weeks ago | Simply Wall St
Should You Buy The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) For Its Dividend?1 month ago | Simply Wall St
What Does The Western Union Company's (NYSE:WU) Share Price Indicate?Valuation
Is Western Union undervalued compared to its fair value and its price relative to the market?
38.8%
Undervalued compared to fair value
Share Price vs. Fair Value
Below Fair Value: WU ($23.15) is trading below our estimate of fair value ($37.8)
Significantly Below Fair Value: WU is trading below fair value by more than 20%.
Price To Earnings Ratio
PE vs Industry: WU is good value based on its PE Ratio (13.6x) compared to the US IT industry average (36.8x).
PE vs Market: WU is good value based on its PE Ratio (13.6x) compared to the US market (21.2x).
Price to Earnings Growth Ratio
PEG Ratio: WU is poor value based on its PEG Ratio (1.4x)
Price to Book Ratio
PB vs Industry: WU is overvalued based on its PB Ratio (141.8x) compared to the US IT industry average (5x).
Next Steps
Future Growth
How is Western Union forecast to perform in the next 1 to 3 years based on estimates from 18 analysts?
9.4%
Forecasted annual earnings growth
Earnings and Revenue Growth Forecasts
Analyst Future Growth Forecasts
Earnings vs Savings Rate: WU's forecast earnings growth (9.4% per year) is above the savings rate (2%).
Earnings vs Market: WU's earnings (9.4% per year) are forecast to grow slower than the US market (21.3% per year).
High Growth Earnings: WU's earnings are forecast to grow, but not significantly.
Revenue vs Market: WU's revenue (3.3% per year) is forecast to grow slower than the US market (10.6% per year).
High Growth Revenue: WU's revenue (3.3% per year) is forecast to grow slower than 20% per year.
Earnings per Share Growth Forecasts
Future Return on Equity
Future ROE: WU's Return on Equity is forecast to be very high in 3 years time (201%).
Next Steps
Past Performance
How has Western Union performed over the past 5 years?
7.3%
Historical annual earnings growth
Earnings and Revenue History
Quality Earnings: WU has high quality earnings.
Growing Profit Margin: WU's current net profit margins (14.4%) are lower than last year (21.1%).
Past Earnings Growth Analysis
Earnings Trend: WU's earnings have grown by 7.3% per year over the past 5 years.
Accelerating Growth: WU's has had negative earnings growth over the past year, so it can't be compared to its 5-year average.
Earnings vs Industry: WU had negative earnings growth (-38.1%) over the past year, making it difficult to compare to the IT industry average (4.2%).
Return on Equity
High ROE: Whilst WU's Return on Equity (1047.09%) is outstanding, this metric is skewed due to their high level of debt.
Next Steps
Financial Health
How is Western Union's financial position?
Financial Position Analysis
Short Term Liabilities: WU's short term assets ($1.7B) do not cover its short term liabilities ($5.3B).
Long Term Liabilities: WU's short term assets ($1.7B) do not cover its long term liabilities ($3.5B).
Debt to Equity History and Analysis
Debt Level: WU's debt to equity ratio (4525.3%) is considered high.
Reducing Debt: WU's debt to equity ratio has increased from 257.9% to 4525.3% over the past 5 years.
Debt Coverage: WU's debt is well covered by operating cash flow (27.5%).
Interest Coverage: WU's interest payments on its debt are well covered by EBIT (8.1x coverage).
Balance Sheet
Next Steps
Dividend
What is Western Union current dividend yield, its reliability and sustainability?
3.89%
Current Dividend Yield
Dividend Yield vs Market
Notable Dividend: WU's dividend (3.89%) is higher than the bottom 25% of dividend payers in the US market (1.39%).
High Dividend: WU's dividend (3.89%) is in the top 25% of dividend payers in the US market (3.87%)
Stability and Growth of Payments
Stable Dividend: WU's dividends per share have been stable in the past 10 years.
Growing Dividend: WU's dividend payments have increased over the past 10 years.
Current Payout to Shareholders
Dividend Coverage: With its reasonable payout ratio (51.6%), WU's dividend payments are covered by earnings.
Future Payout to Shareholders
Future Dividend Coverage: WU's dividends in 3 years are forecast to be well covered by earnings (41.8% payout ratio).
Next Steps
Management
How experienced are the management team and are they aligned to shareholders interests?
2.5yrs
Average management tenure
CEO
Hikmet Ersek (59 yo)
10.33yrs
Tenure
US$10,099,500
Compensation
Mr. Hikmet Ersek has been the Chief Executive Officer and President at The Western Union Company since September 1, 2010. Mr. Ersek served as the Chief Operating Officer of The Western Union Company from J...
CEO Compensation Analysis
Compensation vs Market: Hikmet's total compensation ($USD10.10M) is above average for companies of similar size in the US market ($USD6.31M).
Compensation vs Earnings: Hikmet's compensation has been consistent with company performance over the past year.
Leadership Team
| Name | Position | Tenure | Compensation | Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| President | 10.33yrs | US$10.10m | 0.23% $ 22.0m | |
| Chief Financial Officer | 6.5yrs | US$3.80m | 0.067% $ 6.3m | |
| Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary | 3.08yrs | US$2.03m | 0.0030% $ 277.8k | |
| President of Global Network | 11.83yrs | US$2.22m | 0.051% $ 4.8m | |
| President of Consumer Money Transfer | 1.5yrs | US$2.24m | 0.022% $ 2.1m | |
| Chief Accounting Officer & Controller | 0.83yr | no data | 0.0040% $ 375.4k | |
| Senior VP | no data | no data | no data | |
| Chief Compliance Officer | 2yrs | no data | no data | |
| Chief Corporate Affairs & Communications Officer | 2yrs | no data | no data | |
| Chief People Officer | 8yrs | no data | 0.022% $ 2.0m | |
| Senior VP & GM of US | no data | no data | no data | |
| Chief Transformation Officer | 2yrs | no data | 0.0070% $ 661.7k |
2.5yrs
Average Tenure
54yo
Average Age
Experienced Management: WU's management team is considered experienced (2.5 years average tenure).
Board Members
| Name | Position | Tenure | Compensation | Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| President | 10.33yrs | US$10.10m | 0.23% $ 22.0m | |
| Independent Non-Executive Chairman of the Board | 3.67yrs | US$485.00k | 0.0011% $ 104.2k | |
| Independent Director | 9yrs | US$290.00k | 0.000030% $ 2.8k | |
| Independent Director | 8.5yrs | US$245.00k | 0.0029% $ 269.4k | |
| Independent Director | 14.33yrs | US$285.00k | 0.0012% $ 114.5k | |
| Independent Director | 14.33yrs | US$250.00k | no data | |
| Independent Director | 5.5yrs | US$270.00k | 0.0070% $ 654.2k | |
| Independent Director | 1.08yrs | US$18.80k | 0.0024% $ 228.1k | |
| Independent Director | 0.83yr | no data | 0.00079% $ 74.1k | |
| Director | 0.50yr | no data | 0.00090% $ 84.5k | |
| Independent Director | 2.5yrs | US$260.00k | 0% $ 0 |
5.5yrs
Average Tenure
59yo
Average Age
Experienced Board: WU's board of directors are considered experienced (5.5 years average tenure).
Ownership
Who are the major shareholders and have insiders been buying or selling?
Insider Trading Volume
Insider Buying: Insufficient data to determine if insiders have bought more shares than they have sold in the past 3 months.
Recent Insider Transactions
Ownership Breakdown
Dilution of Shares: Shareholders have not been meaningfully diluted in the past year.
Top Shareholders
Company Information
The Western Union Company's company bio, employee growth, exchange listings and data sources
Key Information
- Name: The Western Union Company
- Ticker: WU
- Exchange: NYSE
- Founded: 2006
- Industry: Data Processing and Outsourced Services
- Sector: Software
- Market Cap: US$9.386b
- Shares outstanding: 411.12m
- Website: https://www.westernunion.com
Number of Employees
Location
- The Western Union Company
- 7001 East Belleview Avenue
- Denver
- Colorado
- 80237
- United States
Listings
| Ticker | Exchange | Primary Security | Security Type | Country | Currency | Listed on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WU | NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) | Yes | Common Stock | US | USD | Sep 2006 |
| W3U | DB (Deutsche Boerse AG) | Yes | Common Stock | DE | EUR | Sep 2006 |
| WU * | BMV (Bolsa Mexicana de Valores) | Yes | Common Stock | MX | MXN | Sep 2006 |
| 0LVJ | LSE (London Stock Exchange) | Yes | Common Stock | GB | USD | Sep 2006 |
| WUNI34 | BOVESPA (Bolsa de Valores de Sao Paulo) | BDR REPR 1 COM SHARE USD0.01 | BR | BRL | Jul 2015 |
Biography
The Western Union Company provides money movement and payment services worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Consumer-to-Consumer and Business Solutions. The Consumer-to-Consumer segment facilit...
Company Analysis and Financial Data Status
| Data | Last Updated (UTC time) |
|---|---|
| Company Analysis | 2021/01/27 23:46 |
| End of Day Share Price | 2021/01/27 00:00 |
| Earnings | 2020/09/30 |
| Annual Earnings | 2019/12/31 |
Unless specified all financial data is based on a yearly period but updated quarterly. This is known as Trailing Twelve Month (TTM) or Last Twelve Month (LTM) Data. Learn more here.