Western Union (WU) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments. The company enables individuals and businesses to send and receive money through a variety of channels, including its vast agent network, online platforms, and mobile applications. Core services include person-to-person money transfers, business-to-business cross-border payments, bill payment services and prepaid card programs.

Through its digital offerings, Western Union provides customers with the ability to initiate transfers via its website and mobile app, as well as track transactions in real time. The company’s agent network spans more than 500,000 locations across over 200 countries and territories, offering both cash pick-up and payout options. Western Union also leverages partnerships with financial institutions, retailers and fintech firms to expand its reach in key markets.

Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Western Union operates under the leadership of President and Chief Executive Officer Devin McGranahan, who took the reins in 2019. The executive team focuses on enhancing digital capabilities, optimizing the company’s network, and driving innovation in remittances and payments. Western Union’s management emphasizes regulatory compliance, risk management and consumer protection as foundational to its global operations.

Founded in 1851 as a telegraph company, Western Union transitioned into money transfer services in the late 20th century and has since become synonymous with remittances worldwide. Over its long history, the company has introduced innovations such as the first stock ticker and the development of early electronic payment systems, laying the groundwork for today’s digital transactions. Western Union continues to evolve its technology and service offerings to meet the changing needs of a global customer base.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $8.22 to $8.55
• 50-Day Range: $8.32 to $9.83
• 52-Week Range: $7.85 to $10.35
• Volume: 7.15 million shs
• Average Volume: 10.14 million shs
• Market Capitalization: $2.64 billion
• P/E Ratio: 6.22
• Dividend Yield: 11.11%
• Price Target: $8.82
• Consensus Rating: Reduce

Western Union Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Western Union scored higher than 42% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 195th out of 298 stocks in the business services sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 1.2 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Reduce

Consensus Rating

Western Union has received a consensus rating of Reduce. The company's average rating score is 1.64, and is based on no strong buy ratings, no buy ratings, 9 hold ratings, and 5 sell ratings.

Upside/Downside

The consensus price target for Western Union is close to its current price, suggesting limited near-term upside or downside.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Western Union has received no research coverage in the past 90 days.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 9.66%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Western Union are expected to grow by 9.66% in the coming year, from $1.76 to $1.93 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Western Union is 6.22, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 44.47.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Western Union is 6.22, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Business Services sector average P/E ratio of about 30.02.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

Western Union has a PEG Ratio of 1.06. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Western Union has a P/B Ratio of 2.81. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 1.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Bearish

Percentage of Shares Shorted

16.49% of the float of Western Union has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Western Union has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 4.08.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Western Union has recently increased by 7.04%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 3.3 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Strong

Dividend Leadership

Western Union is a leading dividend payer. It pays a dividend yield of 11.31%, putting its dividend yield in the top 25% of dividend-paying stocks.

Dividend Growth

Western Union does not have a long track record of dividend growth.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of Western Union is 69.12%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, Western Union will have a dividend payout ratio of 48.70% next year. This indicates that Western Union will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

News and Social Media

• Score: 2.0 / 5
• News Sentiment: 0.22

News Sentiment

Western Union has a news sentiment score of 0.22. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a lower news sentiment than the 0.62 average news sentiment score of Business Services companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 8 news articles for Western Union this week, compared to 12 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

Only 19 people have searched for WU on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of -5% compared to the previous 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

7 people have added Western Union to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 75% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 1.5 / 5
• Insider Trading: Selling Shares

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Western Union insiders have sold more of their company's stock than they have bought. Specifically, they have bought $0.00 in company stock and sold $240,719.00 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

3.29% of the stock of Western Union is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

91.81% of the stock of Western Union is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

Company Calendar

• Record date for 3/31 Dividend: 3/17/2026
• Ex-Dividend for 3/31 Dividend: 3/17/2026
• Dividend Payable: 3/31/2026
• Last Earnings: 4/24/2026
• Today: 5/19/2026
• J.P. Morgan 54th Annual Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference: 5/20/2026
• Record date for 6/30 Dividend: 6/16/2026
• Ex-Dividend for 6/30 Dividend: 6/16/2026
• Dividend Payable: 6/30/2026
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 7/27/2026
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2026

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NYSE
• Sector: Business Services
• Industry: Financial Transaction Services
• Sub-Industry: Data Processing & Outsourced Services
• Current Symbol: NYSE:WU
• CIK: 1365135
• Web: www.westernunion.com
• Phone: (866) 405-5012
• Fax: 302-636-5454
• Employees: 9,600
• Year Founded: 1851

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for Western Union: $8.82
• High Price Target: $10.00
• Low Price Target: $7.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +4.2%
• Consensus Rating: Reduce
• Rating Score (0-4): 1.64
• Research Coverage: 14 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $1.36
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 6.22
• Forward P/E Ratio: 4.81
• P/E Growth: 1.06
• Net Income: $499.60 million
• Net Margins: 10.88%
• Pretax Margin: 14.04%
• Return on Equity: 55.94%
• Return on Assets: 6.39%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 2.88
• Current Ratio: 1.11
• Quick Ratio: 1.11

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $4.05 billion
• Price / Sales: 0.65
• Cash Flow: $2.36 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 3.58
• Book Value: $3.01 per share
• Price / Book: 2.81

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 312,435,000
• Free Float: 302,156,000
• Market Cap: $2.64 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.50