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Western Union Co (WU) is a leading credit services business with stocks listed in the US. It opened the day at US$23.17 after a previous close of US$22.94. During the day the price has varied from a low of USD22.95 to a high of USD23.33. The latest price was USD23.31 (25 minute delay). Western Union is listed on the NYSE. All prices are listed in US Dollars.
How to buy shares in Western Union
- Compare share trading platforms. To buy shares in a US company from Australia you'll need to find a trading platform that offers access to US stock markets. If you're just starting out, look for a platform with low brokerage and foreign exchange fees.
- Open and fund your brokerage account. Complete an application with your personal and financial details, like your ID and tax file number. Fund your account with a bank transfer, credit card or debit card.
- Search for Western Union. Find the share by name or ticker symbol: WU. Research its history to confirm it's a solid investment against your financial goals.
- Purchase now or later. Buy today with a market order or use a limit order to delay your purchase until Western Union reaches your desired price. To spread out your risk, look into dollar-cost averaging, which smooths out buying at consistent intervals and amounts.
- Decide on how many to buy. At last close price of US$22.94, weigh your budget against a diversified portfolio that can minimise risk through the market's ups and downs. You may be able to buy a fractional share of Western Union, depending on your broker.
- Check in on your investment. Congratulations, you own a part of Western Union. Optimise your portfolio by tracking how your stock — and even the business — performs with an eye on the long term. You may be eligible for dividends and shareholder voting rights on directors and management that can affect your stock.
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What's in this guide?
- Western Union key stats
- Compare share trading platforms
- Is Western Union stock a buy or sell?
- Western Union performance over time
- Is Western Union suitable for ethical investing?
- Are Western Union shares over-valued?
- Western Union's financials
- How volatile are Western Union shares?
- Does Western Union pay a dividend?
- Other common questions
Western Union stock price (NYSE:WU)
Use our graph to track the performance of WU stocks over time.Western Union shares at a glance
Open | US$23.17 |
---|---|
High | US$23.33 |
Low | US$22.95 |
Close | US$23.31 |
Previous close | US$22.94 |
Change | US$0.37 |
Change % | 1.6129% |
Volume | 3,849,105 |
52-week range | US$15.063 - US$22.4802 |
---|---|
50-day moving average | US$17.5076 |
200-day moving average | US$18.4268 |
Target price | US$19.19 |
PE ratio | 7.3524 |
Dividend yield | US$0.94 (5.63%) |
Earnings per share (TTM) | US$2.27 |
Compare trading apps to buy Western Union shares
Is it a good time to buy Western Union stock?
The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. However, this is not a recommendation. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.
Use the fields above to explore the returns from a historical investment. Please refer to the charts further up this page to see performance over 5 years, or other periods. Past performance doesn't indicate future results. Capital is at risk.
Western Union price performance over time
Historical closes compared with the last close of $23.31
1 month (2022-05-27) | 29.57% |
---|---|
3 months (2022-03-28) | 25.26% |
6 months (2021-12-28) | 31.03% |
1 year (2021-06-28) | 1.75% |
---|---|
2 years (2020-06-26) | 10.42% |
3 years (2019-06-28) | 17.19% |
5 years (2017-06-28) | 22.88% |
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Is Western Union under- or over-valued?
Valuing Western Union stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of Western Union's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.
Western Union's P/E ratio
Western Union's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 7x. In other words, Western Union shares trade at around 7x recent earnings.
That's relatively low compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29). The low P/E ratio could mean that investors are pessimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're under-valued.
Western Union's PEG ratio
Western Union's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 2.9656. A low ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer better value, while a higher ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value.
The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into Western Union's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.
Western Union's EBITDA
Western Union's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is US$1.3 billion (£1.1 billion).
The EBITDA is a measure of a Western Union's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.
Western Union financials
Revenue TTM | US$5 billion |
---|---|
Operating margin TTM | 22.72% |
Gross profit TTM | US$2.2 billion |
Return on assets TTM | 8.02% |
Return on equity TTM | 32.1% |
Profit margin | 18.29% |
Book value | 0.911 |
Market capitalisation | US$6.4 billion |
TTM: trailing 12 months
Western Union's environmental, social and governance track record
Environmental, social and governance (known as ESG) criteria are a set of three factors used to measure the sustainability and social impact of companies like Western Union.
When it comes to ESG scores, lower is better, and lower scores are generally associated with lower risk for would-be investors.
Western Union's total ESG risk score
Total ESG risk: 27.33
Socially conscious investors use ESG scores to screen how an investment aligns with their worldview, and Western Union's overall score of 27.33 (as at 01/01/2019) is pretty good – landing it in it in the 29th percentile of companies rated in the same sector.
ESG scores are increasingly used to estimate the level of risk a company like Western Union is exposed to within the areas of "environmental" (carbon footprint, resource use etc.), "social" (health and safety, human rights etc.), and "governance" (anti-corruption, tax transparency etc.).
Western Union's environmental score
Environmental score: 7.12/100
Western Union's environmental score of 7.12 puts it squarely in the 8th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Western Union is a leader in its sector terms of its environmental impact, and exposed to a lower level of risk.
Western Union's social score
Social score: 18.84/100
Western Union's social score of 18.84 puts it squarely in the 8th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Western Union is a leader in its sector when it comes to taking good care of its workforce and the communities it impacts.
Western Union's governance score
Governance score: 12.86/100
Western Union's governance score puts it squarely in the 8th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. That could suggest that Western Union is a leader in its sector when it comes to responsible management and strategy, and exposed to a lower level of risk.
Western Union's controversy score
Controversy score: 3/5
ESG scores also evaluate any incidences of controversy that a company has been involved in. Western Union scored a 3 out of 5 for controversy – a middle-of-the-table result reflecting that Western Union hasn't always managed to keep its nose clean.
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) summary
Western Union Co was last rated for ESG on: 2019-01-01.
Total ESG score | 27.33 |
---|---|
Total ESG percentile | 29.18 |
Environmental score | 7.12 |
Environmental score percentile | 8 |
Social score | 18.84 |
Social score percentile | 8 |
Governance score | 12.86 |
Governance score percentile | 8 |
Level of controversy | 3 |
Western Union share dividends
Dividend payout ratio: 41.59% of net profits
Recently Western Union has paid out, on average, around 41.59% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 5.63% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), Western Union shareholders could enjoy a 5.63% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In Western Union's case, that would currently equate to about $0.94 per share.
While Western Union's payout ratio might seem fairly standard, it's worth remembering that Western Union may be investing much of the rest of its net profits in future growth.
Western Union's most recent dividend payout was on 30 June 2022. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 15 June 2022 (the "ex-dividend date").
Western Union share price volatility
Over the last 12 months, Western Union's shares have ranged in value from as little as US$15.063 up to US$22.4802. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".
Beta measures a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NYSE average) beta is 1, while Western Union's is 0.9238. This would suggest that Western Union's shares are less volatile than average (for this exchange).
Western Union overview
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 facilitates money transfers between two consumers, primarily through a network of third-party agents and sub-agents; and offers international cross-border transfers and intra-country transfers, as well as money transfer transactions through websites and mobile devices. The Business Solutions segment provides payment and foreign exchange solutions, primarily cross-border and cross-currency transactions for small and medium size enterprises, other organizations, and individuals; and foreign currency forward and option contracts. It also offers bill payment services that facilitates payments from consumers to businesses and other organizations, as well as offers money order and other services. The company was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.
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