How to buy The Western Union Company shares

The Western Union Company (WU) is a leading credit services business with stocks listed in the US. It opened the day at US$25.24 after a previous close of US$25.17. During the day the price has varied from a low of USD24.71 to a high of USD25.25. The latest price was USD24.77 (25 minute delay). The Western Union Company is listed on the NYSE. All prices are listed in US Dollars.

How to buy shares in The Western Union Company

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Search for The Western Union Company. Find the share by name or ticker symbol: WU. Research its history to confirm it's a solid investment against your financial goals.
4. Purchase now or later. Buy today with a market order or use a limit order to delay your purchase until The Western Union Company reaches your desired price. To spread out your risk, look into dollar-cost averaging, which smooths out buying at consistent intervals and amounts.
5. Decide on how many to buy. At last close price of US$25.03, 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 The Western Union Company, depending on your broker.
6. Check in on your investment. Congratulations, you own a part of The Western Union Company. 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.

The Western Union Company share price

Use our graph to track the performance of WU stocks over time.

The Western Union Company shares at a glance

• Live prices
• Key figures

Information last updated 2021-06-10.

Open	US$25.24
High	US$25.25
Low	US$24.71
Close	US$24.77
Previous close	US$25.17
Change	US$-0.4
Change %	-1.5892%
Volume	3,556,131

Information last updated 2021-06-09.

52-week range	US$18.7029 - US$26.61
50-day moving average	US$25.236
200-day moving average	US$23.8618
Target price	US$26.12
PE ratio	13.9061
Dividend yield	US$0.91 (3.65%)
Earnings per share (TTM)	US$1.81

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The value of your investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invested. Past performance is no indication of future results.

Is it a good time to buy The Western Union Company stock?

The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. 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.

Technical Analysis of The Western Union Company by TradingView

The Western Union Company price performance over time

Historical closes compared with the last close of $24.77

1 week (2021-06-01)	0.77%
1 month (2021-05-11)	-2.86%
3 months (2021-03-11)	1.47%
6 months (2020-12-11)	11.93%

1 year (2020-06-11)	10.09%
2 years (2019-06-11)	24.53%
3 years (2018-06-11)	18.57%
5 years (2016-06-10)	27.94%

Is The Western Union Company under- or over-valued?

Valuing The Western Union Company stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of The Western Union Company's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.

The Western Union Company's P/E ratio

The Western Union Company's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 14x. In other words, The Western Union Company shares trade at around 14x 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.

The Western Union Company's PEG ratio

The Western Union Company's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 1.3566. 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 The Western Union Company's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.

The Western Union Company's EBITDA

The Western Union Company's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is US$1.2 billion.

The EBITDA is a measure of a The Western Union Company's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.

The Western Union Company financials

Revenue TTM	US$4.9 billion
Operating margin TTM	20.21%
Gross profit TTM	US$2 billion
Return on assets TTM	6.95%
Return on equity TTM	2964.56%
Profit margin	15.44%
Book value	0.534
Market capitalisation	US$10.3 billion

TTM: trailing 12 months

Shorting The Western Union Company shares

There are currently 37.9 million The Western Union Company shares held short by investors – that's known as The Western Union Company's "short interest". This figure is 13.3% up from 33.4 million last month.

There are a few different ways that this level of interest in shorting The Western Union Company shares can be evaluated.

The Western Union Company's "short interest ratio" (SIR)

The Western Union Company's "short interest ratio" (SIR) is the quantity of The Western Union Company shares currently shorted divided by the average quantity of The Western Union Company shares traded daily (recently around 4.4 million). The Western Union Company's SIR currently stands at 8.7. In other words for every 100,000 The Western Union Company shares traded daily on the market, roughly 8700 shares are currently held short.

However The Western Union Company's short interest can also be evaluated against the total number of The Western Union Company shares, or, against the total number of tradable The Western Union Company shares (the shares that aren't held by "insiders" or major long-term shareholders – also known as the "float"). In this case The Western Union Company's short interest could be expressed as 0.09% of the outstanding shares (for every 100,000 The Western Union Company shares in existence, roughly 90 shares are currently held short) or 0.1219% of the tradable shares (for every 100,000 tradable The Western Union Company shares, roughly 122 shares are currently held short).

A SIR below 10% would generally be considered to indicate a fairly optimistic outlook for the share price, with fewer people currently willing to bet against The Western Union Company.

Find out more about how you can short The Western Union Company stock.

The Western Union Company'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 The Western Union Company.

When it comes to ESG scores, lower is better, and lower scores are generally associated with lower risk for would-be investors.

The Western Union Company'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 The Western Union Company's overall score of 27.33 (as at 12/31/2018) 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 The Western Union Company 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.).

The Western Union Company's environmental score

Environmental score: 7.12/100

The Western Union Company's environmental score of 7.12 puts it squarely in the 8th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that The Western Union Company is a leader in its sector terms of its environmental impact, and exposed to a lower level of risk.

The Western Union Company's social score

Social score: 18.84/100

The Western Union Company's social score of 18.84 puts it squarely in the 8th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that The Western Union Company is a leader in its sector when it comes to taking good care of its workforce and the communities it impacts.

The Western Union Company's governance score

Governance score: 12.86/100

The Western Union Company's governance score puts it squarely in the 8th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. That could suggest that The Western Union Company is a leader in its sector when it comes to responsible management and strategy, and exposed to a lower level of risk.

The Western Union Company's controversy score

Controversy score: 3/5

ESG scores also evaluate any incidences of controversy that a company has been involved in. The Western Union Company scored a 3 out of 5 for controversy – a middle-of-the-table result reflecting that The Western Union Company hasn't always managed to keep its nose clean.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) summary

The Western Union Company 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

The Western Union Company share dividends

Dividend payout ratio: 49.2% of net profits

Recently The Western Union Company has paid out, on average, around 49.2% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 3.77% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), The Western Union Company shareholders could enjoy a 3.77% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In The Western Union Company's case, that would currently equate to about $0.91 per share.

While The Western Union Company's payout ratio might seem fairly standard, it's worth remembering that The Western Union Company may be investing much of the rest of its net profits in future growth.

The Western Union Company's most recent dividend payout was on 29 June 2021. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 14 June 2021 (the "ex-dividend date").

The Western Union Company share price volatility

Over the last 12 months, The Western Union Company's shares have ranged in value from as little as US$18.7029 up to US$26.61. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".

Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NYSE average) beta is 1, while The Western Union Company's is 1.0185. This would suggest that The Western Union Company's shares are a little bit more volatile than the average for this exchange and represent, relatively-speaking, a slightly higher risk (but potentially also market-beating returns).

The Western Union Company overview

The Western Union Company provides money movement and payment services worldwide. It 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. This segment 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. The company also offers bill payment services that facilitates payments from consumers to businesses and other organizations, as well as offers money order and other services. It serves primarily through a network of agents. The Western Union Company was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

Frequently asked questions

• What percentage of The Western Union Company is owned by insiders or institutions?

  Currently 0.508% of The Western Union Company shares are held by insiders and 105.261% by institutions.

• When does the fiscal year end for The Western Union Company?

  The Western Union Company's fiscal year ends in December.

• Where is The Western Union Company based?

  The Western Union Company's address is: 7001 East Belleview Avenue, Denver, CO, United States, 80237

• What is The Western Union Company's ISIN number?

  The Western Union Company's international securities identification number is: US9598021098

• What is The Western Union Company's CUSIP number?

  The Western Union Company's Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures number is: 959802109